Pokemon Colosseum: Back to the Beginning
by Digi-Dolphin
Summary: Global Series With the Earth Seal's threat gone, the world is safe once more, but the true hero behind the tale has gone missing. Rui and her friends search for the Beginning to find him, unaware that Cipher isn't quite as dead as they thought..
1. Prologue

A/N: This would make more sense if you've read the other stories in order. PC: Apparitions, Global Warning, Meeting, and Healing all lead up to this story. Though it can be enjoyed without knowing a lot of the backstory, it helps.

* * *

Prologue

Rui held the Snag Machine tightly and stared up at the Indigo Stadium. It had only been a few seconds since she and her new friends, Red, Silver, May and Brendan were teleported out of the area and to a safe distance. High overhead, a storm of epic proportions was spinning in a fury, bearing down on the stadium and the plateau. Within the Indigo Stadium, the legendary Pokémon of the world were fighting to stop the storm, using all their might to push the cell into the atmosphere and dissipate the clouds. With them was the man she loved and the world's best hope at salvation; Seth Evice.

Known to the Pokémon as Raykyoudon, to Cipher before its fall as Project: WSLY, to his friends and loved ones as Seth, the rebel Snagger from Orre was making his stand against the storm of his creation. As the super-legendary Pokémon he was designed to be, Seth had unwittingly unleashed a hellish maelstrom that would destroy everything. Now he was about to repair the damage he had wrought.

By going back to the beginning.

It was Rui who had told him to do so, placing in him all her trust and love and friendship. And in telling him to go back, they both knew she was making a tremendous sacrifice. The battle against the storm would likely kill him.

"It's not rising any higher! There's not much time left before the legendaries konk out and we all die!" May cried, raising her hand to shield her eyes as she watched the storm rage.

"We've got to trust that he'll pull this off!" Silver exclaimed, "We don't have much of a choice!" They continued to watch the events unfold. Jupiter and Pluto, Seth's twin Eons, stepped forward and whimpered. The Espeon and Umbreon feared the worst when a brilliant burst of light filled the air.

"What is that?" Red murmured as the glow within Indigo Stadium increased in brilliancy. Rui gasped and blinked.

"That's got to be Seth!" she exclaimed and cried out when the glow died, only to find it replaced by a golden spiral that rose from within the arena to the heavens, carrying the brunt of the storm with it. The twister didn't seem very solid, she could just about make out spaces within it that hinted at the tornado being formed of small pieces. But pieces of what?

"That's gotta be Raykyoudon's power!" Brendan exclaimed, "The bastard did it! Yeaaaah, Seth!" Red and the others cheered, fists pumping into the air as they realized the tornado was Seth's handiwork. Jupiter and Pluto cried sorrowfully, instinct telling them that the spiralling energy was all that remained of their master and friend.

Celebi and the other legendaries appeared beside them as they rooted for the spiral that climbed ever higher, growing wider and more scattered as it took in the entirety of the storm clouds. The tiny Grass-Psychic wailed in sorrow, reaching for the twister and catching Rui's attention.

"Guys! This isn't good! Celebi is crying!" she declared, "What's going on?!"

_"Seth! That's Seth's energy! He's tearing himself apart! If he keeps it up and rises completely to the atmosphere, he'll never return!"_ Celebi howled, clawing at the air, _"He's going to die! He's going to die and it'll be my fault! There's no way he'll come back then!"_ Red translated her words and looked horrified.

"You promised you'd come back, Seth!" Rui screamed at the twister, "I said to go back, but this is too far!"

"He's got to come down! He has to come back to Earth!" May exclaimed.

"But if he slacks off on the storm, it will come down with him and destroy the world!" Silver protested. Red scanned the heavens for a sign of hope and shook his head regretfully.

"I don't think so. Enough of it has already been torn away that the worst we'll get is a hurricane, but even that is going to cause major damage to Kanto and Johto." he murmured, "He's not going to be able to make it back. It's too much, too late."

_"Let the rain fall! Red! Translate the words and call them out!"_ Celebi suddenly blurted. Red looked at her in confusion, _"No time to explain! Do it!"_ Within moments of his translation everyone was calling to the heavens. With no idea of whether they would be heard or heeded, Rui and her friends cried the words until their voices grew faint. Finally, they saw the spiral of energy drop apart, raining down with the last of the storm from the evil machine called the Earth Seal. Golden bits blinked out of existence as they fell, dying one by one and taking more of their friend's life with them.

In the end, only one bit remained. The tiny golden bead made its way to Celebi's hand and she turned with a happy smile to her kind. She spoke to them in a commanding tone filled with hope and love and the three legendaries responsible for Seth's former existence roared out. Energy flowed from all three, collecting with the golden piece and forging a body within a misty white veil that concealed it. Seth was returning.

"She says we have to go back to the beginning." Red went on translating as the cloud suddenly flashed brightly and disappeared. "That's where Seth is. Where it all began, that is the beginning. The reason why Seth existed as the darkness, as the enslaved Raykyoudon. That was the beginning then, and it is the beginning now." He looked at Rui, "He's alive and he's at the place where it all began." He watched with the others as she looked down at the machine in her arms, then slid it on. She looked up at them fiercely, the Eons standing beside her with determination on their faces to match her own.

"Orre. The Shadow Pokémon Lab." Rui told them, "That was where Seth was created. It must be the beginning."

"There could be other beginnings. You have to take Seth's entire history into account." Red pointed out.

"Will you help me then? Will you come with me to Orre and to the Beginning?" Rui asked them, "Help me to find Seth, please!"

And the adventure continued for Rui and her friends...


	2. Change of Style, Snagger Rui!

Ch 1

Rui Roane looked into the mirror, a grim expression on her face. Behind her, Jupiter and Neptune the Espeons, and Pluto and Saturn the Umbreons watched her with approval on their faces. It had only been a few days time since Red quietly suggested they leave Kanto immediately and make their way to Orre. He had not wanted to be at the stadium with the Elite Four finally escaped their defensive status and found out what had taken place.

After stopping to rest in Goldenrod City in Johto, Rui had calmly told her friends to let her have the day to herself to prepare for her journey. Silver and May were ready to object and take her on a comfort shopping trip, but the boys held them back to grant her wish. Rui took their idea of the shopping expedition in a different direction. With the Eons following her along, she headed to several clothes and specialty shops, purchasing needed supplies and wanted items. Upon returning to the hotel, she spoke not a word to her friends and locked herself in the room.

"For Seth's memory." Rui murmured after spreading the contents of her bags on the bed. She set the Snag Machine Mk II down on the table and reached for the first item she saw.

In a few hours' time, Rui had shed her usual frilly jacket and mall rat outfit for a Snagger's uniform. The black tube top and matching jeans fit her lithe form, the royal blue of a trench coat cinched at the waist and open at the top flattered her further. Knee high black boots and fingerless gloves added to the effect of her nearly armored outfit. She pulled her hair from their cute pigtails and brushed it down until it shone and rippled around her shoulders, calling attention to the necklace that hung around her neck, made from the Dragonair bracelet Seth had bought for her long ago in Phenac City. Looking back in the mirror, she dipped her finger into a little jar of zinc oxide and traced a line across the bridge of her nose, dividing her face in half. She slipped the jar in her pocket, along with her PDA and the assorted gadgets given to her during her trip with Seth to the other three regions.

Rui slipped the Snag Machine on last and flexed her arm, feeling it adjust on her and hum softly with power. A full set of Poké Balls lined her belt and the machine was keyed to send new captures to Seth's Pokémon boxes in Orre. The Eons smiled and bobbed their heads in appreciation. This was a girl Seth would love to have with him, an equal in every way. Yet, would he wish for the old Rui as well? Only he would know.

"Okay, boys and girls. Let's do it." Rui remarked with a smile that hinted she was still the good old Rui they knew under the new wrapping. She slid a pair of black sunglasses on and hefted her bag of personal belongings over her shoulder. "Let's find my man."

_"Aye aye, Rui!"_ Jupiter yipped with joyous respect as he leaped down from the bed and followed her out with the others in tow.

Red raised an eyebrow at Rui's sudden change of outfits and attitude when she emerged from her room and declared that they leave for Orre that minute. Brendan fairly salivated at her, earning a gut punch from May that was only half deserved. Silver grinned and clapped in approval.

"Oh yeah! It's go time, baby!" she hooted and made for the door, the others running after her to hitch the next bus through the mountain pass to Orre's Phenac City.

Had they stayed longer, they would have heard reports that of the four main players in the Earth Seal plot, one was found dead in the stadium and three were nowhere to be found. Ein had managed to escape before the storm was dispelled but both Sera Evice and Gonzap had been gravely injured. Their bodies had yet to be discovered.

And yet another player was ready to call his own hand into the game.

* * *

"So Orre is nothing but desert, right?" Silver asked as the bus carefully navigated the narrow passage through the Retoh Mountains. Rui nodded as she gazed out the window, idly playing with her hair.

"Sort of. There are a few pockets of oases here and there, but the biggest one is Agate, where my grandparents live." she replied and stretched. "The Orre desert is among the harshest known deserts and the climate isn't much nicer." she added and sat up abruptly. "Look over there!" Rui exclaimed, pointing at the distance as her friends leaned over to follow her aim.

Far across from the bus's travel path into Orre lay a canyon with the ruins of a large building. They could just about make out the shape of the remains. Red frowned and sat back, Pikachu perched on his head and gazing out with him. Since losing the hat he had once won in a contest during the battle at the Kanto Power Plant, the champion had to adjust to the mouse gripping his hair to stay balanced.

"I don't like the look of that place." he remarked bluntly. Rui nodded, pink lips pursed together.

"That's all that's left of Team Snagem's hideout. Seth blew it up the day he abandoned them and saved me." she finally said, settling back in her chair.

"That's another beginning, isn't it?" Silver Summers asked thoughtfully, "It was the beginning of Seth's rebellion against Cipher and Snagem. He could be there." She readjusted the silver ribbon tied around her black hair and smiled back at her betrothed. "Red, you up for some more infiltration?" The man formerly known as Ash Ketchum grinned back.

"It's not a paid job, but for Seth, I'll break into every building in the world." he replied, "We have more in common than he thinks, Seth and I."

"How does Orre work? We're going to have culture shock if we're not prepared." May Thorne, the Hoenn Champion, pointed out as she slung a leg up against the seat in front of her. "I know about the two on two battle system, since Seth used them a lot. What else is there?"

"Do you have Gyms? Badges? How does a person become a trainer here?" Brendan Birch added. Rui thought about the questions, lifting the sunglasses onto her head.

"We don't have Gyms, we have Colosseums. Registration to enter Colosseums are done at the arenas themselves. The only time you need to do a main registration is when you're new to Orre and need a PDA. The Pokémon Digital Assistant keeps track of Pokémon you've battled and seen, contains your e-mail and photo ID, and also keeps data on Colosseum battles." she replied, "Seth registered himself after the Realgam Tower was taken over by legitimate Colosseum officials and that's how he's been making the money to support himself and his Pokémon."

"When you enter a Colosseum challenge, you follow the two-on-two battle system against four opponents. By clearing the challenge you earn a cash prize and the data for eligibility to the next level Colosseum challenge. When you've completed that Colosseum four times, you earn a pass for the next arena. Collecting all of the passes in Orre means you can compete in the Realgam Tower.

"In the Realgam Tower, you have to battle the Tower Trainers on your way to facing the Tower Leaders. There's one Leader in each of the four secondary compass points; northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. Defeating a Tower Leader earns you a colored Tower Pass, which you need to open the elevator to the upper levels of the Realgam Tower. The Tower Leaders challenge was based on Seth's trials in the final days of Cipher's fall. Completing the Realgam Colosseum challenge nets you a huge cash prize and the title of Colosseum Grand Champion."

"Sounds simple enough." May remarked with a grin, cracking her knuckles, "I bet I can become the Orre Colosseum Champion too!" Rui laughed, hugging her knees as the bus pulled up to the Outskirt Stand for a break and gas up.

"Grand Champion, May! Orre Colosseum Champion is region-wide, like your Elite Four challenges, but you have to clear the entire Orre Colosseum for that. And it's tough! The challenge is also in finding all of the Colosseums, too! Orre Colosseum changes location with each new challenge season. Then there's Mt. Battle, which is a whole other challenge in itself." she remarked with a smile. Brendan leaned over and grinned back.

"Did Seth ever make it through that one?" he asked teasingly. Rui shook her head. "Not strong enough, eh?"

"Ah, more like he was acrophobic. Seth couldn't stand the heights. He lasted long enough to save the mountain from Dakim and snag Entei, but right after getting the Time Flute he bailed out and took a nap under the tree outside the registration hall. He told me he needed to rest, but I think he was just getting ready to faint and didn't want to fall on his face." she answered and looked distantly sorrowful, "I miss him already. I keep thinking that I just have to turn around and he'll be there waiting for me to move out of his way again. I can't even use the PDA's tracking chip to find him. It's reporting that it can't find the signal."

"Well, I'm getting out to change. If I'm going to register in Phenac for the colosseum challenges, I have to be Silver Summers the boy trainer." Silver remarked, picking up her pack, "They won't take me seriously if I show up in this skirt." Red rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly as she bounded off the bus and into the train engine that served as the diner and outpost.

"She's gonna learn one day to be true to herself. Only then will she attain the true respect of the Pokémon trainers of the world." he sighed.

* * *

Evice tapped his fingers together and studied the board before him. Across from the table sat Nascour, dressed in a business suit and wild gray hair now tamed down into a slick ponytail. He eyed the board with an expressionless face, waiting. The former head of Cipher hummed softly and reached out, carefully choosing a piece and placing it firmly down in a new spot.

"Checkmate." he remarked with a smile, looking up at his lackey. Nascour lifted both eyebrows in surprise and tipped his head in acknowledgment of defeat. "Tell me. How long has it been since my dear daughter visited us?"

"She hasn't. Not since we were imprisoned, master." Nascour murmured as he collected his pieces to restart the chess game. "I've heard reports that our former organization tried to implement the Earth Seal Project." Evice looked up at him, face lit with excitement.

"Really? They must have failed in it, as the world is not under its control and our weather hasn't been sealed from us." he remarked brightly, collecting his own pieces, "We've been released and put on parole for nearly a month and in that time my precious daughter has destroyed Cipher's greatest plan for domination."

"She was always rather impatient in getting her way." Nascour admitted, watching Evice fiddle with one of the pieces.

"And what of my son? What of my pride and joy, my heir to the throne and the bringer of vengeance?" he asked softly.

"If he was used in the machine, and the reports of a massive weather disturbance infers that he was, then chances are that he has all three pieces of Pokémon DNA within him." Nascour replied, "And may I remind you that he is not your son? Only a mirror image of him?" Evice stood up and walked, almost waddled, to a jeweled box set on his writing table. He picked it up and waddled back to the chess table. The round man then gently set the box down and opened it up to reveal a velvet lined interior and custom chess pieces cast of gold resting in indents.

"I think I'll use my personal pieces for this next game." Evice remarked and carefully pulled them out to line up on the board. "I'd like for you to find my son, Nascour. Find him and bring him back to me." Nascour sighed and nodded.

"I'll have the agents begin the search at the Indigo Plateau and spread out from there." he murmured and waited for Evice to make the first move.

"I do so love my pieces." Evice added lightly, smiling at the piece that represented the queen; the piece that, if played properly, could decide the fate of the player in the game favorably. He stroked the tiny figure of Seth, its miniature golden eyes gazing up at him in its frozen expressionless face, and smiled wider. "I do so love my cherished son. I always loved him... my Wesley."


	3. Rise to the Challenge, Rui!

Ch 2

Phenac City was known as the beautiful city of opulent water for good reason. The entire town was surrounded by water that was pumped up from deep underground, cooling the area and bringing about a lushness that wasn't there before. The bus dropped off Rui and her friends along with the crowd of trainers ready to try their luck in Orre. Rui headed for the Pokémon Center, leading her friends along to register for the colosseums and act the part of normal trainers out to make it big.

Silver crammed her hair under her black and yellow hat and grinned. Dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and dark shorts with sneakers, she looked more like a boy ready to start a Pokémon journey. She marched into the center with May and Brendan following after. Rui watched them go, then looked up at Red.

"Aren't you going to register too?" she asked in confusion. He shook his head.

"I don't want to call attention to myself like that. I have a job that demands as much anonymity as possible." he replied and looked out at the city. "Misty would have liked this place. There's so much water here."

"What kind of job do you have?" Rui asked as the crowd of trainers passing them by began to be jostled about. Red grinned.

"Can't say. But it pays well and helps me take care of my mother." he replied and blinked as a young woman marched up to them.

"Hey, you!" she yelled and Rui turned in surprise. The girl blinked and blushed. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else." A small boy standing beside her shook his head.

"Ya see, sis? Why can't you just give up on that rematch?" he sighed, "The dude wasn't interested in you anyway." Rui raised her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"What dude? Was he dressed like me? With gray hair and golden eyes?" she asked coldly. The trainer, dressed in jungle camoflauge and short purple hair, glared back at her.

"Yeah, that's him. He owes me a rematch. He cheated me out of a fair battle that _I_ should have won!" she declared.

"The prize was a date and the dude wasn't up for grabs." the boy threw in and grinned when his sister scowled at him. "Lilith's been training to have another duel with him." Rui bristled and whisked her jacket open, snatching up a pair of Poké Balls that contained the female Eons, Neptune and Saturn.

"Damn right, he's not up for grabs!" she declared harshly, "Seth is mine! And he'll stay that way once I've found him again!" The other girl held a pair of Luxury Balls in her hands, striking a pose with them. She grinned icily and Red made the point of stepping back.

"Let's have a battle then and see who's woman enough to have him!" Lilith purred and tossed the two balls forward, "Lilith calls the mighty Queenie and the gallant Hariyata!" In a burst of light, a violet colored Pokémon with a small horn on its head stood on the ground, followed by a rotund Fighting-type that evolved from a Makuhita, the first Shadow Pokémon Seth ever snagged.

"Neptune! Saturn! Let's show her who deserves to stand by Seth!" Rui declared and threw down the twins.

"I'll referee this battle!" Red declared, "First trainer to have both Pokémon faint on the field loses the match!" He threw out a hand as the Pikachu whistled in appreciation of a battle. "Battle commences now!"

"Queenie! Hyper Beam that Espeon! Hariyata! Fake Out the Umbreon!" Lilith ordered her Nidoqueen and Hariyama. Rui ground her teeth as her mind raced. What should she do? She didn't know the first thing about battles! The twins yelped and Neptune dodged the Hyper Beam, hiding behind her sister to escape the blast that nearly slammed into the center.

_"Yow! That was close! What do we do?"_ Neptune cried, panting as she gazed back at the damage to the city's protective wall. Saturn growled up at the Hariyama that lumbered towards her, fists ready to pound into her.

_"Pray our new trainer learns the tricks of the trade before we meet **our** makers!"_ she replied.

"Point against Lilith! Hyper Beam attacks are not permitted within city limits unless held in an insured building for Pokémon battles!" Red declared. Lilith snorted and grinned.

"I don't need it anyway. Looks like Ms. Wannabe Tough Chick can't even battle!" she declared and struck a victory pose, "That man's gonna be mine in a nutshell!"

"What do I do? How do I battle? What attacks do I use?" Rui whispered to herself and blinked. "Wait a second. These two are just like Jupiter and Pluto." She stole a glance at Seth's twins in their balls on her belt, then looked up to see the Hariyama slam its fist into the ground where Saturn had been. The Eons had jumped aside and looked back at Rui anxiously, waiting for orders. "What would Seth do in a fight like this?" she murmured.

Red watched her flounder and falter and sighed. He was probably going to regret this move, but he couldn't stand seeing someone so helpless. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the MasterDex, his heavily modified PokéDex.

"Rui! Catch!" he called out and tossed it to her. Rui caught the device and stared at it blankly. "Open it and point at the Pokémon!" he added. She flicked open the device and aimed the bulb on top at the strange violet Pokémon she had never seen before.

"Nidoqueen. A Poison-type Pokémon, it is known to defend its young fiercely. Evolves from Nidorina. Many of its attacks are quite powerful, if not somewhat unreliable." the computerized voice rattled off.

"Queenie! Finish off the Espeon with Earthquake! Hariyata! Use Vital Throw to get rid of the Umbreon and score the win!" Lilith laughed as she jumped for joy.

"Saturn! Confuse Ray the Hariyama!" Rui suddenly blurted out. The Umbreon snapped her gaze at the Fighting-type, a brilliant light shining in her eyes. The behemoth blinked and waved its arms around as the world spun for it. The Nidoqueen began to slam its weight down for its attack when it was knocked off balance by a stray punch from its partner. It staggered back and forth, trying to recover from the blow as Lilith blinked in shock.

"Hey! What's going on?!" she exclaimed as Rui jumped and cheered.

"Yeah! Now, Neptune! Psybeam the Hariyama! I don't want it to attack Saturn!" she commanded.

_"Now we're getting somewhere!"_ Neptune laughed and turned her power on the Fighting-type. It fell back in a faint, arms still waving about in a dizzy.

"Hariyama is unable to battle!" Red declared and threw his arm out to Rui, "First victory to Rui Roane!"

"Hariyata, return! Queenie! Hang in there! Earthquake!" Lilith yelled and the Nidoqueen regained its balance, slamming both fists into the ground and sending a shockwave their way. Rui cried in surprise as Saturn barked out something and her twin leaped onto her back. The force of the attack hit Saturn head on and she buckled, calling out in defeat as she caved under her sister. The spectators that stopped to watch and the battlers all fought to keep their balance from the attack. Rui braced her legs and breathed hard. The match was taking its toll on her. Was it like this for Seth each time he battled, too?

"Saturn! You did great! Come back and rest!" Rui declared, holding out the Poké Ball and recalling the Umbreon.

"Umbreon is unable to battle! Second victory to Lilith!" Red announced, aiming his hand at the grinning girl.

"There's no way you can beat me now!" Lilith crowed, "Say goodbye to your Espeon **_and_** your man!"

"Neptune! Your sister took the attack to save you and give us another chance!" Rui exclaimed, "Don't let her sacrifice be for nothing! Psybeam on Nidoqueen! Poison types are weak against Psychics!"

"Queenie! Slash! Finish her off!" Lilith demanded. The Pokémon charged, its claws ready to cut into the silvery cat that stood her ground. The gem on Neptune's forehead shone and a burst of psychic energy fired from it, concentrated in a beam that slammed the hulking Poison-type and threw it to the ground. It squalled and writhed, then lay still, too dazed to do much else. Red grinned and held up his arms as the people around them cheered.

"Match ended! Rui is the winner!" he shouted. Lilith shrieked in a fury and threw another wad of money down on the ground.

"It's not fair! I trained for weeks to get back at that jerk and I lost to his two-bit girlfriend?! Argh! That's it! I'm going back to Hoenn where people pay attention to pretty girls like me!" she raged and stormed off with her Pokémon. The boy only grinned up at Rui.

"Nice work showing up my sis. She needs a wake up slap to the face every now and then." he remarked, "I'll let you in on a tidbit of info I heard while we were traveling around here." He looked around and waved Rui down to his level, then whispered into her ear conspiratorially. "I heard that the Realgam Tower has more levels to it than people believe. Some say that the blueprints to it will reveal the path to a new challenge. But that's just what people say." he murmured and stepped back. "Well, gotta run. Say hi to that guy for me, okay?!" he added and ran off, waving back at Rui.

She straightened and watched him leave with a worried expression as Red walked up to her with her prize in hand.

"Rui? Are you okay?" he asked, holding the money out to her. Rui shook herself out of her trance and smiled up at him, exchanging the MasterDex for the cash.

"Ah, fine, thanks. Let's go and get Saturn and Neptune healed at the center and see if the gang is ready to go and stock on supplies." she replied and turned to enter the building, "I'm afraid we're going to have to walk to the lab."

"Not really. We have Flying Pokémon, remember? We'll go by the sky!" Red remarked with a grin and his Pikachu agreed in his own way, pumping a tiny fist into the air with a resounding, _"Pika!"_

* * *

__

Rezrik wasn't happy with his 'promotion'. He and several other peons from the former Cipher organization that remained loyal to Evice were sent from their hiding positions in Kanto to investigate the Indigo Plateau. Their foremost priority was to find Seth, or at least signs of him. The stadium was crawling with police still combing the wreckage for bodies and evidence of what had happened. On top of that, they had to deal with the fact that the now condemned stadium could collapse at any time.

"Man, I don't wanna do this!" Rezrik griped as he and the others entered the building and made their way to the announcer's box. The ceiling shifted and dust sprinkled down on them as they gingerly walked in and looked around, aiming their flashlights into all corners of the room.

"Creepy. The boss's kid might be hiding here? He must have a death wish." one peon muttered as they explored the room carefully. Rezrik shushed him.

"He already had one. And from the looks of this place, it got fulfilled again." he grumbled and blinked when his light fell upon the two black drives collecting dust on the table. "Hey! Are those what I think they are?" A third grunt inched over and raised herself on her toes, peering at them.

"Yeah! They have the Cipher Corp. logo on 'em! Those are the hard drive backups of Seth Evice's memory database!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice. She reached out and picked one up, "They look okay. Let's take these back to the boss and see if they have a clue as to where he is." She passed the disks over to Rezrik and they crept out of the room.

"Did you call in the outside unit?" he asked a comrade as they made their way out of the stadium.

"Yeah, they say they've searched the perimeter of the arena and some few miles out with Growlithe and choppers. Nothing. Not even a body." the other peon replied, "Fein's been shipped off to his family, wherever the hell they are. Ein's up and vanished on us; then we have Sera and Gonzap to deal with. I don't know if we're screwed or saved if they _are_ dead!"

"Don't get your shorts in a twist. With these and a good working computer," Rezrik remarked, holding up the two disks in his hands, "we should have all the information we need to find Seth and get him back to Mr. Evice. God knows the man's gotten more insane and is paying a fortune to get his kid's copy back."

"What does he plan to do with him, though? The Earth Seal Project has been completely destroyed." the female peon pointed out. Rezrik shrugged.

"Who knows? Who cares? Let's just find him and get the reward." he grumbled, "I'm putting it towards my retirement. I'm sick of this Cipher grunt work. I don't wanna end up like Fein."

* * *

A young man with silver-gray hair and a slender figure opened his eyes slowly and looked around. Slowly, he sat up and rubbed his head, then blinked at the Caterpie that scuttled along in front of him as he sat still. The Pokémon paused, then looked over at him.

_"Mornin', neighbor."_ it remarked and resumed its walk. The young man blinked again in surprise that it talked, then thought about his situation and shrugged. Maybe all creatures in this place talked?

"Good morning!" he called after it and sat back, supported by his arms as he clacked his boots together. He looked up and took a deep breath, then closed his eyes to think over what he knew.

It was morning, and a small green creature called a Caterpie said he was a neighbor.

"Yup! It's a good morning!" the man remarked brightly and smiled at nothing, watching the Caterpie crawl up a tree and nibble on the leaves.


	4. Each Beginning Has Its Ending

Ch 3

"I'm curious to know why you suddenly changed styles on us." Red asked during the flight to the Shadow Pokémon Lab. Rui winced and gazed out at the desert in search of the buildings. Silver sat behind her, also keeping her eyes open for any suspicious place, squinting in the sunlight and hot winds. Her registration had been welcomed warmly, along with May's. Orre hadn't had much experience with offering challenges up to the champions of other regions and were now practically falling all over themselves to provide information about the toughest colosseums. She grinned wryly; it was almost as if the desert region was whoring out its arenas in hopes of bringing in fame and fortune. The terra-forming plan was still in effect apparently.

"To keep Seth alive in my memory. And to show Orre that the threat of Cipher isn't over, not by a long shot. Ein got away and as long as he's free, we'll need a Snagger to stop his Shadow Pokémon-making machines." Rui replied and looked fierce. "Orre _needs_ Seth, whether or not it's gonna admit it. I'm gonna show them that Seth is important, and by saving him dressed as him, maybe it will change how they think of the title 'Snagger'."

"But you're not a Snagger. You have no training, no experience, no knowledge of that machine on your arm." Red pointed out, "And that was your first ever Pokémon battle back there." He looked back at her and she could see that he had known all along she was completely naive about the battling aspect of Pokémon.

"Battle? Where? When? Damn, I miss out on all kinds of cool stuff." Silver griped, looking around. "And I don't see any damn lab building."

"It's further up ahead." Rui added quietly, watching the Latias whizz by and call out in joy. "I guess I wasn't really thinking things through when I did this, but can you blame me for trying?" she added, then looked up at him hopefully, "But you're a champion! You all are! You can teach me how to battle! And I've seen Seth use the Snag Machine lots of times! I bet I can figure out how to work it!" She brightened as the plan started forming. "I can ask Nett to bring up files about it! He can tell me how to use the Snag Machine and I know where to get more Poké Balls here in Orre!"

"You make it sound so easy." Silver murmured, "The only way to learn how to battle is to do it. The Snag Machine is a whole other can of worms that I don't wanna open up myself."

"Hey! Is that it over there?" Brendan suddenly yelled out, pointing at a squat white building surrounded by smaller buildings and an electrified fence down below. The Latias hung back to let the teens on her back talk with the ones on the Charizard. Rui nodded and the two Pokémon descended to check it out.

* * *

The Shadow Pokémon Lab had seen better days. Dimly lit with the emergency lights that had remained active since the kidnapping incident a month or so before, the main building retained its creepy atmosphere. Red handed his flashlight to Rui and let her lead the little team towards the laboratory where Seth had been created. The room was almost in the exact same condition it had been when she last saw it.

"What happened here?" May asked softly, picking up a piece of crumbling plaster off the floor and turning it in her hands. Rui plucked it from her hands and crushed the plaster, an angry look on her face.

"Seth's death happened here." she growled and glared around her, blue eyes glittering with a suppressed fury. "This is part of a fake Snag Machine I made to use as bait for Cipher, but Seth made himself the bait and trap instead. When I came here to rescue him, the other project Cipher created with Seth got loose and killed him. Celebi brought him back to life." She let the dust slip through her fingers onto the tile as the group watched her warily. "But I will never forget how he was murdered before me, that shadow beast slicing into him with a blade formed of its own arm. I'll never forgive Cipher for creating that monster and taking my desert prince away." she added coldly.

"We've searched the room. Nothing. Seth's not here." Silver remarked to break the awkward silence. "Where do we go now?" Rui scanned the room again, then looked over at Red.

"Can we try the old Snagem Hideout?" she asked, "It's where Seth was taken after Cipher finished giving him all the data they had. When he blew it up, it was the beginning of his rebellion. That might count as the true Beginning." Brendan sifted through papers and pulled up a sheet, showing it off.

"Hey! Check this out! These are notes about our battles with Groudon and Kyogre, May!" he declared, "Cipher went to the Cave of Origin to collect DNA from those battles we had and used 'em to make Seth. Origin is the same as beginning, right? So maybe Seth wound up there?"

"In Hoenn? You think?" May remarked incredulously and grabbed the sheet, "Well, now that I think about it, why not? It's the beginning of Seth's creation. That could be another spot to check."

"We'll go there after the Snagem Hideout, if it doesn't yield any leads." Red pointed out and made for the door, "But we should keep a lower profile once we get out into more populated areas."

"We can gather additional information from Nett in The Under." Rui added, "Word is there's something funny about Realgam Tower and the best place to look for information about Cipher's buildings is to go straight to the source." She grinned and winked slyly, "Seth's old memory backup. Nett has it stored in his house!"

* * *

Evice looked through the files sent to him by Rezrik's group and smiled happily. Nascour had taken time to convert some of the data to image form and the former Cipher head cheerfully took each photo of his 'son' and framed them, placing them with care on the mantle in the study room. While he straightened them out and lined them up, Nascour went on reading the recent memories.

"'Rui had mentioned that she would have to let me go back to the beginning in order to have me return. I can use that to my advantage and trick Ein into believing I have rejoined them. Yet, if he downloads my memories, and he finds this thought of mine, everything will just go to hell. But if he can password protect junk in my head, why can't I do the same?'" he finished up and raised an eyebrow. "Master, he claims he will return to the beginning. Any thoughts as to where that may be?" he added.

"No, none at all. But it would be best to work from the ending, no?" Evice remarked, "He hasn't been found in the Indigo Plateau, so what would be the next logical location to search?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to follow his friends and see if they lead us to him?" Nascour asked, sifting through the many sheets of information. The Cipher head stepped back and looked up at the many pictures of Seth, images taken only when he looked into mirrors.

"We could do that, yes. But it would be like a game if we did it this way. What is the beginning for Seth?" he replied simply. Nascour frowned and tilted his head back, thinking over it.

"I would think the beginning would be where he was created; in the Shadow Pokémon Laboratory." he answered. Evice shook his head.

"Further back, my good man. Think further back. The beginning is where it all began." he corrected with a mysterious smile. The other man blinked, then nodded and stood from the chess table.

"All right. Further back. The Cave of Origin where the DNA for Seth was collected. I'll have the men start exploration of it immediately." he commented and left the room. Evice shook his head and continued gazing up at an image of the Snagger, who was looking into a mirror with an experimental smile, blushing slightly at the attempt to look less intimidating.

"Further back, Nascour." he whispered, "To where it _all_ began."

* * *

The young man pulled at the greenery and let it fall through his fingers, marveling at the cool feeling of it and the slenderness of his own hands. He had already pulled off most of what he was wearing, each piece surprising him by folding or bending in unusual ways. Something made him stop at his shirt and underclothes, but it was forgotten at the feeling of the cool winds spinning around him.

_"That's grass, in case you were wondering."_ the Caterpie muttered around a mouthful of leaves, _"What kind of Pokémon are you, to be wearing clothes like that?"_

"Clothes?" the man echoed and picked up the black jeans, "That's what these are?" He shook them down, then tossed it aside, standing up to stretch. His stomach growled and he looked surprised. "What is that?" he poked at his belly and made a face when it growled again. "It doesn't feel nice."

_"Gah, you can't even tell when you're hungry? Are you a newborn? What are you?"_ the Caterpie grumbled and ambled down the tree to him. _"Lemme check."_ It sniffed at him and looked up at him suspiciously with one eye. _"You smell like a mix of Rayquaza, Kyorge and Groudon. You some kind of new legendary Pokémon?"_

"Really? Then what's my name?" the man asked eagerly, stomach grumbling forgotten.

_"Eh, I don't know. I'll make up a name for ya. Raykyoudon. There. That's your name." _the Caterpie decided, _"And there's some berry bushes over there if you're hungry. Save some for me, will ya, pal?"_ Raykyoudon promptly crawled up to the bushes and scarfed down several handfuls. _"Man, you eat way too much! I told you to leave some for me! Oh well." _The Caterpie gazed up at the sky and frowned. _"It's getting darker. You have a place to sleep, Raykyoudon?"_

"Sleep?" the man replied in mild confusion around a mouthful of berries, "I have to go somewhere to sleep?" The Caterpie sighed and shook its head.

_"Kids. I'm supposing that means no. Well, put your clothes back on and follow me. I know of a place you can stay."_ it began and started marching along at its own lazy pace. Raykyoudon rubbed his face clean and dressed quickly.

"Okay, Caterpie, but I have to come back here tomorrow." he added as he tagged after it. It looked back at him in confusion.

_"Why?"_

"Because this is The Beginning and I have to be here." Raykyoudon replied and thought about what he had learned.

Grass was cool and ticklish. His clothes can come off and on. When his stomach growls, he is hungry and must eat. Berries are yummy and messy. His new name was Raykyoudon and he was Caterpie's pal.

"For a Beginning, this place is nice." Raykyoudon remarked brightly, golden eyes glittering happily. "If there's a Beginning, is there an Ending too? Where can I find that, and are the berries just as yummy there, too?"


	5. Of Burglary, Birthdays, and Bad Thoughts

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I'm way behind on lots of things, but I hope you're enjoying the story. For many of you trying to figure out where Seth is, think carefully. The answer was hidden in one of the earlier stories, more precisely the last story in the Global series. It should make sense; The Beginning is not a when, but a where. And this where is the why that became the reason for Seth's creation. Get it? No? Oh well. And what is up with the edit system? I can't get this chapter in right!! Agh!!!!!!!

* * *

Ch 4 

Pyrite Hotel wasn't the greatest of places to spend the night, but Rui's reputation for hanging out with Seth earned the gang of heroes a better room than most. May and Silver sorted through their Poké Ball collection to pick out a good team for use in the colosseum. Rui leaned back in her chair and sighed, gazing out the window at the dying day. Brendan watched her worriedly, then pulled up a chair beside her.

"Penny for your thoughts." he remarked with a smile. Rui grinned slightly, then resumed her sad expression.

"I wonder if Seth is okay, wherever he is, and if he's thinking about me. Does he know I'm coming to find him? Does he know what happened?" she asked as she continued gazing outside. "Everything that's happened to him, I can't help but feel it's my fault." She closed her eyes and smiled wanly, the four Eons looking up at her in confusion. "If I hadn't been captured, hadn't dragged him into the fight against Cipher to begin with, he would be safe in another region, maybe even another country."

"Then he would have fallen to darkness all the more rapidly." Red suddenly said, stepping into the room with a pack slung over his shoulder and the Pikachu sitting on the other. Rui looked at him blankly. "I know how Seth thinks, how his mind works, mainly because I was in that same situation." he went on, "Without knowing love, without feeling love, a person tends to feel hatred all the more potently. With Seth, if he learned to embrace the hate he must have been feeling then for Snagem, the outcome of that day in Kanto would be far different."

"Are you saying he would have gone ahead and destroyed the Earth?" Brendan asked. Silver and May paused, listening in from their seats at the table. Red nodded. "Geez. The man needs to get laid."

"So it's not your fault. Nothing is. Seth did all of this, not just for the world, but for you." Red told Rui gently, "He loves you enough that he wouldn't let anything keep you from having anything you wanted, even to the point of sacrificing himself."

"I didn't _want_ him to sacrifice himself; I wanted him to stay with me!" Rui declared, "But my dream said that if I said that to him, he would turn into a monster and we would all die!"

"Because it would have been the same as saying you didn't trust him to keep you safe, to keep his promises to you. And if you didn't trust him, you couldn't love him." Red explained with a half shrug. "And for Seth, not having that love meant everything can go to hell, because he has nothing, is nothing, may as well _be_ nothing."

"Where do you think you're going?" Silver suddenly asked pointedly, glaring at his solid black outfit of heavy cloth and the obviously loaded backpack. Red blinked back at her and looked sheepish.

"Ah, well, you know the Snagem Hideout is open for excavation and all..." he began and she stood up, fists on her hips.

"Red! You were going to go and infiltrate that ruined building by yourself, weren't you?!" she demanded to know. Red grinned and shook his head.

"Nope! Rui's coming with me!" he corrected. The new 'Snagger' looked up at him in surprise.

"I am?" she asked.

"She is?" Silver echoed and frowned, "Why? Why not take me along? We're partners at this when we can be."

"Because you're supposed to be covering our tracks." Red muttered, "You and May turn all attention on you at the colosseum while Rui and I gather the info we need at the Snagem Hideout and this Nett kid."

"Tonight?"

"We'll hit the hideout tonight. The talk with Nett comes in the morning." the older trainer replied, "That's when you two enter the colosseum challenge and keep the cops and cameras, if any, trained on you guys. I don't want Orre to know that we're poking around their institutions less than legally."

"Why would you need me to go?" Rui asked as Brendan sighed in boredom and propped his feet up on the table.

"You know the way to the hideout and its layout, right?" Red asked, "You've been in there with Seth before, correct?" She nodded, remembering when Seth had faced off against his old boss for the UFO directional disk that led them to The Deep. "Then you'll be my guide through it. We'll see if Seth is there, and if he's not, we'll search it for more clues as to where the Beginning could be."

"All right then. To the canyon!" Rui declared with a smile, bringing the sunglasses down over her eyes, "I'll be a Snagger yet! I'm going to make Seth proud!"

* * *

Rezrik groaned again. The peon and his group had gotten their latest orders from Nascour and not a single one of them was happy about it. Orre was not the most wonderful place for them, and though the law wasn't as strong as the ones in Hoenn, Johto and Kanto, it was still a dangerous place to be for criminals. Smaller teams were still trying to make themselves to be the replacement to Team Snagem, though far less intimidating. Without the Snagger technology, any new criminal 'team' looked and acted incredibly pathetic. Trainers had no fear of them and taught their Pokémon to fight back with powerful moves if anyone tried to take their Poké Balls. 

Orre was crawling with trainers now, and those self-defense Pokémon, and all because it was the busy season with the colosseums' Grand Champion Challenge. Yet another attempt to recover the funds Cipher squandered on their criminal ways and put it to work on the terra-forming project. Rezrik rubbed his head and sighed. Things weren't going well.

"We gotta get into the Shadow Pokémon Lab and see if the kid's there. Looks like we're posing as trainers to get passes through the Retoh Pass and into Orre." he told his group.

"God, this bites. So many Pokémon out in there now and we have nothing to steal them with! If it hadn't been for Sera and her stupid idea of trying to implement the Earth Seal so soon, we'd still have at least ONE Snagger and Snag Machine!" a female peon dressed in violet griped.

"Actually, if it hadn't been for Seth to begin with, we'd all have Snag Machines. But that's just me." another peon pointed out and shook his head, "Ah, whatever. So when do we do the cross?"

"In the morning. It's too late to do anything now and I'm beat." Rezrik muttered and opened his duffel bag, "Try to pick out some inconspicuous outfits, people. We don't want any undue attention."

"The least the boss could do is get us a hotel or something. I'm sick of sleeping in the woods." the woman grumbled. Rezrik pulled out a brochure and waved it.

"He did, Loraine. We have reservations at the Goldenrod Inn and we better check in soon." he remarked with a wry grin, "Dinner is served in about an hour."

* * *

Rui held on tightly as Red flew the Charizard to the ruined hideout where Seth had made his escape so long ago. It landed gently and they climbed off, surveying the area. Though it looked abandoned, lines of yellow police tape criss-crossing the various entrances alerted Red to the idea that the place might be watched. He set the pack down and let Pikachu jump from his shoulder to the ground. 

"So now what?" Rui asked and jumped when both man and Pokémon shushed her, "What?" she added in a whisper.

"Place might be bugged. Pikachu, run mode five. Check for bugs and alternate entrances." Red murmured and clipped a belt around the mouse. He nodded and winked before scampering towards the building, tiny scuttling sounds in the darkness from his paws scratching the sandstone beneath him. Red pulled out the MasterDex and flicked it open, watching the screen.

"What is Pikachu gonna do?" Rui asked softly, lifting her sunglasses and peering at the screen with him. She watched as the black LCD suddenly lit up with a half dozen little green dots scattered about. "What in the world-?"

"Shh. This is where Pikachu does his thing." Red murmured with a grin, and looked up, "And... three... two... one..."

A wave of soft blue light suddenly erupted from near the entrance of the Snagem hideout, a bubble that expanded and filled the canyon, followed with the sounds of popping and sizzling. Red stood and pocketed the MasterDex with a smile and gave Rui a graceful bow, holding his hand out to the building.

"After you, m'lady." he teased.

"What? What happened? What about the bugs?" Rui stammered in confusion. Red straightened and laughed as he watched the ball of yellow fuzz disappear into the building.

"That was Pikachu's EMP Burst. Fried every single bug and tracer in the area." he replied and walked on with the girl following quickly. "Now we just have to see if he can find a safe point of entry for us before we try the front door."

"What's wrong with the front door?" Rui asked, eyebrow raised at him.

"Let's just say, me and front doors don't exactly have friendly relations." Red muttered darkly, suddenly falling into a somber mood. Rui didn't press into it, recognizing the expression that Seth himself used so often to prevent further questions about his past.

_"Red! No other entrances are available unless you're the size of a kid again! You're gonna have to go at it from the maw!"_ Pikachu yelled out as he scampered from the front gate and reached them.

_"That's okay. Was there anything unfriendly around it?"_ Red replied, eyeing it warily as they walked up to the rusted old gates that served as the building's front entrance.

_"Nothing. Whatever toys used to be there must've gotten trashed by Seth when he blew outta there. Means less work for me, thank Ho-Oh."_ the mouse answered.

"Right, so now it's safe. Let's go." Red remarked aloud and led Rui inside, "Remember, move slowly, move carefully, act as if there is always someone waiting to jump you just around the bend. Do you know how Seth moved in buildings?"

"Yes." Rui murmured softly, taking the lead once they were past the first hall and glancing down the ruined corridors that trailed off to who knew where.

"Then do that." the older man went on, "Now, let's find Seth's room here..."

* * *

Evice sat back in his lounge chair, gazing at the television screen before him as he reached out for a handful of fruits from a bowl beside him. Nascour watched the video with him, an uncomfortable look on his face. The Cipher head had gone to a cabinet filled with videotapes and brought down several to watch, smiling happily all the while. The moment Nascour saw the dates on them, he knew he was in for a long night. 

"Look at him. So strong and beautiful, my dear son. I can't wait until he returns to me." Evice murmured, watching a small boy run in circles around a Growlithe pup on the screen. The boy laughed playfully and hugged the Pokémon's neck, looking up at the camera with deep blue eyes, silver-gray hair combed down neatly.

"Sir, your son has been dead for nearly thirty years." Nascour said as gently as he could, "Seth is not your son."

"Of course he is!" Evice remarked brightly, fast forwarding the tape to a birthday party. "He has the same hair, eyes and intuitive perception of Pokémon; there is no doubt that my son has returned to this mortal coil!" Nascour sifted through several newspaper clippings on the desk.

"Mr. Evice, Seth was the result of genetic manipulation first devised by the researchers on Cinnabar Island in Kanto and DNA enhancements developed by Team Rocket. There is **nothing **about him that is human-born." he said with as much emphasis as he dared, "That young man is no real man, but a Pokémon in human form. And a dangerous one at that. We must devise a method of controlling his powers."

"He will do as I say, because he is my son and it is the way a family works." Evice pointed out and clapped his hands in time with the happy music on the tape. "It's almost his birthday, isn't it? We'll have to get him a present!" The other man groaned under his breath. "What do boys like in this day and age?"

"Sir, the orders to have the Shadow Pokémon Lab investigated have been sent. We should have reports on the findings sometime tomorrow." Nascour began to say.

"That bike he got from Snagem... whatever happened to it? I want to give him one for his birthday, a better one!" Evice suddenly declared and sat upright, a joyful expression on his face. "Yes, that's it! I want the development team to work on building a speeder like the one he had, but I want it to go faster and have all manners of interesting toys built into it!"

"But..." Nascour stammered, growing nervous at this train of thought coming from his master. Evice jumped up and headed for the telephone on his desk.

"I want the team to get started on it at once! Tonight! I want them to drop everything they are doing and get to work on this present!" he exclaimed, "My son will be returning soon and I want to have a gift fit for a prince on his birthday!"

"This bodes most unwell." Nascour sighed as he watched him dial the numbers while the tape played on, the little boy making a wish to go on a Pokémon journey to Kanto one day before blowing out all the candles on his cake.

* * *

Caterpie watched the strange young man curl up in a ball on the floor of the cave. The sun had set long ago, but Raykyoudon wanted to play around some more before finally exhausting himself and dropping off to sleep. The Pokémon thought over its new charge. Obviously this was a human that thought he was a Pokémon, but then why did he smell like a Pokémon when he should smell like a human? 

And there was this business about the Beginning that he had to stay at for some reason. What was so special about that little clearing? Why was it called The Beginning? It was just some stupid little meadow where the berries grew fat and the Butterfree liked to hang out when they weren't off trying to see how high they could fly before they turned purple from lack of oxygen.

Raykyoudon shifted in his sleep and blinked himself awake. The Caterpie took notice and sidled up to him.

_"What is it now? Bad dream?"_ it asked. The man shook his head sleepily.

"It's too warm." he complained and sat up. Caterpie inched along outside and let the wind graze over it, testing the temperature with its feelers.

_"It's summer, and we haven't had much rain in this area. I felt a major storm off to the northwest, but that was just some weird disturbance with nature's balance that got fixed up. Probably by the Chosen Master, it's his job."_ the Pokémon paused in thought and furrowed its tiny brow, _"Although, come to think of it, isn't he past his prime for that whole 'save the world' gig Lugia stuck him in? Who's the new 'Chosen One' for this era?"_

"It hasn't rained?" Raykyoudon asked as he came to stand with it outside, completely disregarding the Pokémon's other words in favor of information he wanted. He smiled happily. "I can make it rain! Then it will be nice and cool and we can all sleep better!" The Caterpie looked up at him incredulously.

_"You? Make it rain? How? By dancing around in your underwear again? By the light of Ho-Oh, I thought you blinded me when you did that strip stunt..."_ it began to gripe. Raykyoudon closed his eyes and spread his arms out, palms facing the heavens as he concentrated. The Caterpie watched him for a moment, then blinked as it heard the rumbling of distant thunder. It gazed up and looked shocked as thick black clouds formed in the sky, lightning flashing from within as they churned with the winds and thunder boomed. In just a few minutes, fat raindrops were pouring down on the two and Caterpie let out a yelp before racing back into the dry cave.

Raykyoudon opened his eyes and relaxed his stance, looking pleased but tired from his efforts. He blinked and lifted his hand to the rain that cascaded down on him. He had created this, had used his power to bring rain to a forest that needed the nourishing water. So why did he have this sudden gut feeling that what he just did could spell disaster for him later?

"I made it rain for the Beginning. At the Beginning, blood rained and it was followed by tears." he murmured, "Do I have something to do with the blood and the tears?"

_"Get in here before you catch a cold!"_ the Caterpie yelled and Raykyoudon scurried into the cave, the strange thought fleeing his mind as he began happily shaking himself off and getting his new friend all soaked.


	6. New Leads

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I'm writing a book that I hope will be published, so it kinda cuts in on my fanfiction. However, I'm still going to finish this! And for anyone who wants to see a Snagger Rui, I did a sketch of her that can be seen in Photobucket. The url is in my profile. She was tough to draw as I only had the instruction manual to help me get the looks right. Well, on to the next chapter! Look! I fixed it! Gimmie some time and I'll fix the other one too.

* * *

Ch 5

Rui snapped awake when her body was jolted by a sudden motion. She looked around in a panic and noticed she was being carried around on someone's back. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and mumbled an apology to the trainer that walked along with her supported on him.

"It's okay, I should have made you some coffee before we left." Red replied with a smile, "But you did pretty good for a beginner at this. Silver konked out after about two hours into a late night job."

"I'm guessing Seth isn't here." Rui muttered. Red fell silent and shook his head slightly and she felt the hair rustle against her temple. "Damn. Any clues as to another Beginning?"

"Not any that I found. Can you think of anything yourself?"

"Nope. We'll have to talk to Nett and pull up Seth's history." Pikachu yawned once and smiled wistfully as Red nodded briefly and carefully turned around, walking back out to the Snagem hideout's entrance.

* * *

With the dawn of a new day came May and Silver's shot at the Colosseum Challenge. Both trainers were ready for action, but not for the job of waking up Rui. Red watched lazily and with a huge grin as they tried everything they could think of, short of dumping water onto her, to wake the exhausted 'Snagger'.

"Why don't you two go on ahead and start the challenge? I'll get her up." Red remarked and looked over at Brendan, "Since you're not doing anything, can you make us some coffee? I have a package of it in my backpack, but don't touch anything else." Brendan nodded and rolled his eyes as the two girls stepped back and sighed in exasperation.

"She sleeps like the dead!" Silver growled, "I don't sleep like that unless I had a wild night with Red! RED! What did you do?!"

"Nothing!" Red griped back, "She passed out while I was ransacking Snagem's main office. Seth's room was stripped bare and there were no clues as to where he could be." May scratched her head and shrugged. Rui lay flat on her back on the bed, mouth opening and closing with her breathing as the four Eons poked at her hands with their noses.

"Well, nothing we can do now. C'mon, Silver, let's go beat some chumps, get some cash and leave the boys to do the grunt work." she remarked with a grin and headed out the door. The 'boys' followed her out with angry glares as Silver broke into laughter and chased after the Hoenn champion.

"That's a good one! I'll remember that!" she exclaimed, "Ya! I'd better stick to my guy voice!"

"Tell me again why you're marrying a cross-dresser?" Brendan muttered as he plunked the coffee pot onto the stove for boiling. Red got up and started tickling Rui's nose.

"She beat me in fair battle. And she looks good in skirts." he answered under his breath, "Now just get the coffee done."

* * *

With Garik Evice, head of Cipher Corp., currently in his study room compiling a list of invitations to send out for his 'son's' birthday and welcoming party, Nascour had time to catch up on the reports sent in by Rezrik and his group of peons.

The team had made it into Orre and finished the investigation of the Shadow Pokémon Lab that afternoon. Though they found no signs of Seth, they managed to confiscate much of the abandoned security tapes and found that some other group had arrived much earlier than they did and had searched the building as well.

"Who could it be? Not that brat girl; she wouldn't have the courage to enter that compound without Seth beside her." Nascour muttered and clicked on the video snippets Rezrik had sent along with the e-mailed reports. Though the clips were badly rendered, he managed to see who had broken into the lab before his underlings. A red-headed girl dressed like Seth stepped into the room and stood motionless as several other people set to exploring the room. A second girl dressed in red and black bent over and picked something up from the floor, which the red-head promptly took from her and crushed in her grip. Nascour blinked at the figure's face.

"Impossible! That's the girl! And she's wearing the Snag Machine!" he murmured in shock. The feed went on to show what appeared to be the oldest two trainers talking to the girl. The male had a Pikachu on his shoulder, the female wore entirely silver clothing. A second boy ran up to them with sheets of paper, motioning excitedly. The red-head, obviously their leader of sorts, nodded curtly and the group ran from the lab room. "This isn't good. Ms. Roane has a head start on us and must know about the Beginning riddle as well." Nascour muttered as he thought about the situation. "Further back to the beginning of it all... Seth's beginning was in that lab, but to get the DNA to create him, scientists went to the Cave of Origin. That must be it!" He set to typing new orders for Rezrik and the peons. "Get to Hoenn on the double! Sootopolis City and the Cave of Origin is our next destination!" Nascour stood and looked determined, clenching his fist tightly as he listened to the sounds of delighted laughter in the next room.

"I'll personally go in and stop that girl once and for all!" he growled, "She'll not be allowed to corrupt that project again! Not when we are close to recovering the corporation!" He whirled around and stomped out the door of the hidden retreat, intent on using his new Pokémon to finally put Rui out of existance.

* * *

Rui rubbed at her eyes, blinked and jerked her head up in surprise. Red leaned over her, glass of water dripping onto her face and a flat expression on his own. She looked around her, then raised an eyebrow at him in silent question.

"If you don't get up now, I'm going to make you wear this glass of water. Without the glass." Red threatened. Brendan snickered as she yelped and scrambled out of the bed.

_"We should do that to Seth. He always sleeps in when it's the weekend."_ Jupiter chuckled and nuzzled Rui's hand.

_"Yeah! Now feed us!"_ Pluto barked and hopped around her. Saturn and Neptune joined in and the four Pokémon's voices filled the air with pleas for food. Rui looked somewhat helplessly at the other two trainers.

"Uh, what are they saying?" she asked sheepishly. Red rolled his eyes and sighed, running his fingers through his hair as Pikachu broke into laughter.

"We're never gonna get through this day sane." he sighed.

Within a few minutes of feeding the Eons, Rui, Red and Brendan made their way to the Mining Co. building. The elevator had long since been open for anyone needing a quick trip to The Under and that's precisely where Rui wanted to go for additional help.

"Nett has the first major backup of Seth's memories and the Cipher database. If anyone can find the Beginning, it'll be him!" Rui remarked as the lift dropped them off at the dimly lit underground city. She led the boys towards a house on the far side of the town, the antenna that swiveled slowly before it a marker for the home of the kid genius.

"So this Nett dude can tell us exactly where Seth is?" Brendan asked, gazing up at the mechanical monstrosity that creaked and drifted rust powder every minute or so.

"I'm hoping he can and will. I want Seth back as fast as possible." Rui murmured and closed her eyes, hugging herself, "I miss him so much. I miss how he wakes me up in the mornings, and how he always has breakfast ready for us when I get up." Red knocked rapidly on the door and smiled down at her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find him." he remarked and looked back when the door opened. A small boy peered up at them, then blinked at Rui.

"Rui? That you? Last time you looked like that, you were gung-ho on chasing down Cipher to get Wes back!" he cried.

"Well, I'm doing it again!" Rui declared, somber mood gone in a flash and replaced by her fiercely determined expression, "Seth disappeared during the Earth Seal incident and we're trying to find him. We need your help and the info from his backup to do it." The boy looked up at the other two trainers in suspicion. "These guys are with me. This is Red, the Kanto Champion, and this is Brendan Birch, the son of Prof. Birch in Hoenn. Guys, this is Nett." Rui introduced them quickly.

"You're the dude that contacted my dad?!" Brendan exclaimed in shock, staring down at the boy. Nett grinned and nodded. "I thought you were a professor, too!"

"I get that a lot. C'mon in! I can boot up the memory files while you get comfortable." the boy replied and let them in, "There's sodas in the fridge, but watch out for the door handle. I kinda messed with it one day and now it randomly zaps people when they grab it."

"This kid's nuts." Brendan whispered to Rui as they entered the machine filled house. Red looked around at the various gadgets and smiled.

"I dunno, I think I'm gonna like him. We both seem to like tinkering with stuff." he remarked and grinned wider, "Although my tinkering comes with a price and usually makes people dead..." Brendan shut his eyes and sweat-dropped.

"God help me, please..." he begged quietly.

------

The three heroes were seated on various chairs and crates as Nett typed away at his computer, cables draped across the floor and connected to a large monitor that replaced one of the walls of his room. Since so much data was stored in compressed format on the disks after being downloaded from Seth's mind, Nett had trouble keeping them stored safely without losing so much space on his hard drive.

"Okay, route in from the Kids Grid Network... Access core database... Access Project: WSLY Memory Dump... Search for keyword: Beginning..." the boy muttered as Rui and her friends waited. Brendan drummed his fingers on the crate and blinked when his PDA went off. Pulling it out, he opened it up and checked the e-mail.

_"Brendan! You're not gonna believe this but the prizes I got from this colosseum thing was a huge chunk of cash and a TM! It's one I was missing in Hoenn!"_ May had written excitedly. He sent back a congratulatory mail and got up to search the kitchen.

"Found anything yet?" Rui asked hopefully. Nett shook his head in an impatient manner, then yelped.

"I got a few hits on it! Lemme bring them up on the screen." he replied and the monitor was filled with windows, the word 'beginning' highlighted in each one. Rui and Red jumped up and began reading the windows, searching for new clues and new leads.

Upstairs, a zap sounded and various colorful words filled the air. The random zap had chosen the wrong time to go off. The group ignored it in favor of the information before them.

"Here! Look, another reference to the Cave of Origin in Hoenn!" Red remarked brightly. Rui pointed at another window.

"This one says Seth began to come to his senses after raising his Eevees. They were stolen from the Day Care Center in Johto." she added. Nett joined them in searching and poked at another window.

"This one says that the research on the DNA splicing began on Cinnabar Island in Kanto. This research eventually led to the development and creation of Project: WSLY." he discovered with a surprised expression. Brendan came downstairs, still swearing under his breath as he clutched a soda in one hand and shook his other fiercely.

"Kid, you gotta fix that fridge!" he yelled, "Your kitchen tried to kill me!" Nett shrugged.

"It'll succeed one day. I'm almost positive of it. My fridge is a good model." he replied offhandedly.

* * *

_"What are you doing?! Get back here! No, don't touch that!"_ Caterpie wailed as it watched Raykyoudon scramble after a Weedle, laughing. _"Come back and eat your lunch already!"_

"Come on and play with me! Hey! My name's Raykyoudon, what's yours?" the young man declared and leaped at the grumbling Pokémon. It turned and aimed the stinger on its head at him. Caterpie ducked its head down as the air was filled with a piercing shriek of pain.

The Weedle scurried away with a grumble as Raykyoudon sat back on the grass, crying loudly as he held his bleeding hand tightly in the other. Caterpie sighed and made its way up to him.

"I... I just wanted... to... play... with him...!" Raykyoudon hiccuped between sobs, "Why... did... he... do... that...?!"

_"I told you to leave him alone. He's having a bad day."_ the Pokémon scolded, _"Now don't cry. Here, follow me and you can wash it off."_ The Caterpie turned and led the injured young man to a nearby river. As Raykyoudon let his arm dangle in the water and slow his sobbing, it curled up nearby and watched him. _"You must be young if you don't even know enough to not mess with an angry Weedle. Think of it in these terms, kid. If it causes pain, then it is bad."_

"If it causes pain, it's bad." Raykyoudon murmured and nodded slowly, "Okay, I got it." He lifted his hand from the water and whimpered slightly at the wound that crossed his palm. Caterpie lifted its head and sprayed sticky string from its mouth over it, creating a natural bandage for him.

_"You probably have poison from that sting, so let's go and get you some medicine for it. There's a bush nearby that has leaves good for this kind of thing."_ the Caterpie went on and walked off to lead him elsewhere in the Beginning. Raykyoudon followed, his gaze still on the bandage on his hand.

"If it causes pain, it's bad." he echoed, "But what happens if I cause pain to something? Does that make me bad too?"


	7. Brief Intermission

_Intermission_

_I was told to watch out for him, when he came. To be aware and ready for when the one known as the Weather's Master awakened in this sad little meadow. Since I had nothing better to do with my time, I agreed. However, I wasn't quite prepared for the Pokémon she spoke of to just suddenly blink into existence here on the grass. I was expecting a Dragonair-like creature, maybe one that looked like a Tyranitar, but human? A human that was a Pokémon? Or a Pokémon that was human? Who can tell?_

_And he looked like the human that passed through this meadow before, the one that never saw daylight again. Looked like him, but didn't smell like him. Didn't act like him. Not quite like in the story.  
_

_This Pokémon, Raykyoudon, knew nothing about this world, yet knew everything. The golden eyes, full of innocence and wonder, reminded me of days when I was younger. Time changed that, knowledge changed that. Now, until she returns to let me know that my job is done, I must watch over this infantile Pokémon._

_He learns of his own clothing, his own power, startling me both times when he played with them. He ate quite a bit of the fruits and berries that grew here in the forest and napped stretched out on the grass. Yet for all the playfulness, for all the laughter and joy he shines with, I can feel that there was a darkness somewhere, waiting to take him back. He dances around when there's nothing to do, and chases after all kinds of things. Butterflies, fish, Pokémon, wind-blown leaves, everything is a wonderful new plaything for him._

_Then the night he made rain come down on this forest, I learned why he was called the Weather's Master. Every Pokémon I've ever seen that could affect the weather did so effortlessly. Raykyoudon did it as if the weather was waiting for permission to change. As if the sky and the water and earth and the sun were holding their breaths, holding in their power, waiting for him to make some motion that said, 'Shine brighter', 'Rain fall here', or 'Blow gently there'. He didn't think much of it. Just did it and kept playing around._

_Sometimes I wonder 'Why here?'. Why does he insist in staying in this wretched little meadow? Sure there was plenty of food and the water was cool and clear, the grass soft and lush and inviting, but there was something more to it. There was more to this clearing than what he thought. And I couldn't bring myself to tell him._

_Raykyoudon calls this meadow The Beginning, and I think to myself, 'Kid, you couldn't be further from the truth'. This is no Beginning; this is The End. The End of an innocent life, the End of an age of safety for Pokémon, the End of the time of the Chosen Master. What happened here years and years ago was passed down as a whispered horror story among my kind. It served to warn that the End was coming, though who was to know how **that **Caterpie knew of that event?_

_As for Celebi, she said I would receive a reward for watching Raykyoudon, so I keep watching. I stay here with him, -though I'd rather be far, far away- watching him. Teaching him. Playing with him._

_Yet in all the time I've been with him, I kept feeling that same odd feeling. There was something waiting for him. Something horrible, yet necessary. Something that he couldn't live without, even though he was doing just fine without it for now. Celebi had said she couldn't find it yet, but once she had it, she would come back and relieve me of this charge._

_So I sit here, watching Raykyoudon roll around in the flowers, laughing and making himself dizzy, and I think about this place and this Pokémon._

_This Beginning, which was The End._

_The Darkness that was coming but had to come to balance the light._

_And Raykyoudon, who despite having all the powers of nature, was still missing something... but what...?_


	8. Wesley's Memory

Ch 6

Red, Rui, Brendan and the Eons blinked at the afternoon sun as they returned to the surface and made their way to the hotel. Already waiting anxiously for them were May and Silver, both wearing proud expressions. Rui laughed and ran towards them, jacket tail flying up almost cape-like as she darted for the two trainers.

"I can see why she was mistaken for Seth now." Red remarked brightly as they joined the chattering girls, "Her jacket moves like his coat-tails."

"Well, we did it! We got what we wanted out of the colosseum and they are just gushing over us over there!" May laughed, "So any new leads? Found another Beginning?" Brendan grumbled sourly about his hand as Rui blinked and nodded.

"Three of them actually. One further confirms Hoenn as a Beginning." she replied, "The Cave of Origin, or something like that. You guys should know about it." May looked troubled.

"We do. Very well, unfortunately." Brendan sighed. "The Cave of Origin in Sootopolis is the cave where both Kyogre and Groudon were sealed in slumber until Teams Aqua and Magma woke them up to fight each other again. Since awakening them caused a wreck of an environment for Hoenn, May and I captured them."

"The battles to subdue the both of them tore the place up pretty badly. Wallace was kinda pissed, but got over it once he saw why we had to fight in there." May added with a wry smile, "I suppose the mess in there is how Cipher got the DNA samples to make Seth. I can see why that could be a Beginning. Seth would never have existed if Brendan and I hadn't captured Kyogre and Groudon."

"So our next stop is Hoenn? We don't even get to finish the Colosseum Challenge?" Silver asked, disappointed by the thought of abandoning the new frontier.

"'Fraid so, love." Red murmured with a smile, "But on the one hand, we'll finally get to see what the fuss is about that place. Word is they have Pokémon the main-lands don't." Silver brightened at the idea of capturing new Pokémon. "Well, are there any objections to our leaving for Hoenn right now?" The group looked at each other and shrugged. "All right then. Let's go. Charizard!" Red declared and threw out the dragon once more.

"Come on, HeartSong! Back to Hoenn we go!" May declared joyfully and the cute Legendary appeared before the group, beaming proudly. Soon, Pyrite was looking up in awe at two large Pokémon winging their way to the northern skies. Capt. Sherle rubbed his head as he watched them go, wondering what in the world was going on and deciding that perhaps he just needed another shot of coffee to survive another day in this crazy world.

* * *

Rezrik adjusted the sunglasses on his face and muttered a small curse as he took in the view of Lilycove City. His group spread to ask questions about any transport making its way to Sootopolis. He himself was stuck waiting for Nascour's plane to arrive. The airport was bustling with activity and, under the guise of traveling trainers, the Cipher peons began blending into the population.

"Man, can't these guys just cut me my check so I can finally get the hell outta here?" Rezrik sighed as a tall figure walked up behind him.

"Why on earth would you want to do a thing like that?" Nascour asked in a darkly smooth tone. The peon blanched and spun around to face him, forcing a smile on. The acting leader of Cipher, seeing as Evice was busily making the remainder of the research and development team into a band worthy of his 'son's' birthday party, glowered down at the peon.

"No, no, I meant get out of Hoenn so I can go back to my wonderfully rewarding career in Orre working for the illustrious Cipher Corporation!" Rezrik hastily stammered out and stepped aside quickly to let him pass.

"Good. Now, we must get to Sootopolis. What have you discovered so far in the way of transportation?" Nascour ordered. The peon sighed and shook his head.

"Nothing so far, but we have people working on it right now." he replied as one of the women ran up to him.

"Rezrik, Sir, glad to find you both here!" she reported, "There's a small private plane service that allows skydivers to fly anywhere they like for a fee."

"Then we shall be skydivers. I must get into the Cave of Origin before Rui Roane does." Nascour hissed and strode towards the shop.

* * *

_"Why? Why can't you stay here and be a trainer? Once the terra-forming is complete, Pokémon will surely move in here and you can go on a journey in Orre!" Garrik Evice pleaded with his son. The silver-haired young man smiled and shook his head._

_"It'll be good for me to see the world. I'd like to see the regions with my own eyes. Who knows? Maybe I'll find people who might like to come here after Orre has become a beautiful forest region!" the man replied laughingly._

_"But, Wesley..."_

_"Dad, I'll be fine. I got an invitation by one of my pen pals that says I'm free to stay at her place whenever I get tired on the journey." Wes answered, deep blue eyes sparkling joyfully, "This trip will be just what I need to loosen up and gather my strength to help lead Orre. After all, the Cipher Corporation will help build the new government, so I may as well get ready to be its first elected leader, right?"_

_"Sera will miss you." Evice murmured, gesturing to the small golden-haired child idly playing with several dolls in her playpen. "So will I." he added in admittance. Wes looked over at his sister and sighed softly._

_"I know you will, but it won't be forever. I'll come and visit when I can. And Sera will find friends her age soon, right? Once the schools and home properties are complete and people begin to move in, there will be lots of other kids her age to play with." he replied. He smiled and picked up his backpack. Evice looked somewhat sad, then brightened and dug into his desk for a phone._

_"Well, take this along, Wesley! Call home when you can, all right?" the small, round man urged, "You know I worry when you're off somewheres. If your mother was still here and knew what you were up to..." Wes laughed and accepted the satellite phone his father held out._

_"Aw, Dad, I'm sure Mom would have wanted me to explore the world, too. I'm gonna make this journey for her, too. She always wanted to be a Pokémon trainer when she was young, right?" he answered and tucked it into his pack. "Well, my bus is leaving soon. I'd better get going."_

_"Where are you starting your Pokémon journey? Johto?" Evice asked eagerly. Wesley thought about that and shrugged. He ran a hand through his spiky hairstyle, shouldered the pack on and brushed off some lint on his black shirt._

_"Johto's right on the other side of the mountains, right? Actually, I thought I'd visit my friend first, in the Kanto region. I hear that it's actually better to start Pokémon training there. There are plenty of tough trainers and better chances of developing good battling techniques." he finally replied, "I'll call you when I get there. See you later, Dad! Bye, Sera! Be a good girl!" The toddler waved at him and laughed before resuming her pretend tea party. Evice watched with a worried but proud expression as his only son strode out the door and walked past the cool fountain in the center of Phenac City towards the bus-stop._

_"Take care, Wesley." the corporate president whispered._

-----------

Evice smiled wider as the huge room was filled with decorations. Streamers and banners hung from the dome ceiling and balloons floated about everywhere. Things were perfect. The new speeder stood gleaming on a stage draped with velvet curtains, a huge golden silk bow tied to the handles of the construct.

"He's coming back soon. And we'll rule the world together, me and my son." he murmured and grinned almost viciously, "My Wesley is coming home!"

* * *

The land of Hoenn was still in recovery from the attacks by Team Venus weeks before. Professor Birch looked up in surprise as HeartSong and Charizard landed before him in Littleroot Town. Brendan leaped off and ran to his father.

"Dad! Can you make a call to Wallace and have him open the Cave of Origin for us? We gotta see if Seth's in there or not!" he blurted as Rui slid off the dragon and looked around. The older man blinked and looked confused.

"What? Why would Seth be in the Cave of Origin? What happened with the fight against Cipher? And the other regions?" he asked back, "Who are these other trainers?"

"This is Silver Summers, the Johto Champion, and this is Red, the Kanto Champion." Brendan introduced briefly, "Guys, this is my dad, Prof. Birch."

"Former Kanto Champion." Red corrected, "Pleased to meet you."

"Heyas." Silver added in as male a voice as she could muster. Prof. Birch looked at her strangely, then shrugged.

"Good to see you both. But what happened?" he pressed. Brendan swiftly gave him a run down of what had happened in Johto and Kanto while May interrupted to add details where they were needed. "Ah, so let me get this straight. You say that Seth was created by Cipher as a super-legendary Pokémon to control the earth's weather, but the machine using him went out of control and created a mega-cell that he died to dissipate, but he came back to life at the Beginning and you don't know where that is?" he summed up.

"Basically." Brendan replied.

"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard."

"DAD!"

"Well, supposing that what you've told me is true, why would the Cave of Origin be the Beginning? Why not the research center?" Prof. Birch questioned, then shrugged, "All right. I'll call ahead. You'd better go on to Sootopolis and check it out. I'll contact Nett and see if the two of us can't find more leads on this together."

"We found three with him. But maybe you can find more. Good luck, Professor Birch!" Rui declared as the group thanked him and began to fly towards the crater city. Prof. Birch waved at them, then looked troubled as he headed back to the lab.

"Now that I think about it, Seth looked rather familiar. Where have I seen that young man before?" he murmured.

* * *

Nascour readied his parachute and eyed the city sprawled below him. He didn't want to do this, wanted to just go back to the hidden headquarters and direct others to do this kind of grunt work, but with Evice lost in his fantasy of Wesley's return, there wasn't much he could do. On top of that, there was the chance that Rui was on her way here with the other trainers. If Seth really was in that cave and they got there first...

He shook the thoughts from his head and followed the peons out of the plane, diving for the hidden city of Sootopolis. The Cave of Origin was so close; Seth just **had **to be in there! The sooner the corporation had their most expensive experiment back, the sooner they could begin rebuilding the Earth Seal Project. The research and development team, before being divvied up to Evice's whims, had built a new type of weather control device that would house Seth and draw on his power when needed, keeping him sedated so he would force a chain reaction within the core. It was more stable and less violent than the original Earth Seal, and could be placed anywhere in the world.

It was currently located in the secret room where Evice and his subordinates were holed up. The Realgam Tower was built for more than just covering up Cipher's tracks and generating a steady income of Pokémon for snagging; its architecture allowed one or two secrets to be held there. However, the blueprints to the tower were lost when Ein scrubbed most of Cipher's data.

Nascour pulled the pin and floated down towards the city, grinning slightly as Rezrik cursed loudly at his own floating, declaring that it would be the last time he would enter any area in that manner. The blueprints were no big loss. The copy was stored in Seth's memory, which they now possessed.

He only had to worry if the same copy existed in the _other_ backup of Seth's mind.


	9. Start the Domino Effect

Ch 7

Wallace was waiting outside of his gym in the center island of Sootopolis for the trainers. The two dragons landed and May leaped off to talk with him. Rui watched the conversation start, then turned to her PDA, trying the find the tracking chip one more time. The map bloomed on the screen, and two green lines of light scanned the area vertically and horizontally. After a few minutes, a tiny window popped up with the message, _"Subject not found"_. She sighed and closed the PDA, wishing she knew why the chip couldn't find Seth. May suddenly yelled something out and she jerked her head up as the Cave of Origin erupted in smoke and debris.

"What was **that**?! What's happening?!" Rui cried as Wallace spun in shock.

"Someone's broken into the cave! I have to see what the damages are! Hurry!" he exclaimed and raced to the shore of the island, "Walrein! Surf!" Red barked out an order and the Charizard rose to follow him to the cave. Silver gaped at the Pokémon that appeared in the water.

"What the-?! What kind of Pokémon is **that **and where can I catch me one?!" she cried and then clamped her mouth shut, realizing she just spoke in her normal voice. May climbed back onto HeartSong and set her to follow quickly.

"Walrein, they evolve from Spheals. You can probably find one in the cave if they haven't been killed by that weird explosion." she replied and zipped off.

The Cave of Origin was in shambles and Wallace was already inside. Red landed the Charizard and raced in after him, the Pikachu hot on his heels. Rui slid down and followed him, fear coursing through her at the thought that, if Seth was in there, he may have been killed by the blast. She prayed silently that he was okay.

"Agh! Who are you?! What are you... augh!" Wallace's voice cried out, then abruptly was ended. May and Brendan hurried into the cave with Rui, then stopped in shock at the scene before them.

The gym leader in ice blue lay crumpled on the floor with Nascour standing over him, rubbing his fist and smiling coldly at them. Red stood ready, the crackling glow of the Thundershock Dagger in his hands. Rui gasped, then narrowed her eyes at the man.

"You! You're the guy that got arrested with Evice! Nascour! What are **you** doing here?!" she demanded. Nascour turned his gaze on her and snorted in contempt.

"Step a little closer, young lady, and I'll give you the same answer I gave your gay friend here." he replied curtly, "What it is that I am here for is of no concern to you, though it may please you to know that what you seek isn't here." Rui shook her head furiously and waved her fist at him.

"Where's Seth?! What have you done to him?!" she demanded. Red growled angrily, stepping up behind her.

"Answer the lady's questions! Where is the Snagger of Orre?!" he snapped out. Nascour merely smiled and shrugged nonchalantly.

"I have no earthly idea. I am merely following the same clue you are. He is at The Beginning. It was safe to assume that he meant here, where the idea of creating a super-legendary began. We were both wrong." he answered and looked over his shoulder quickly. "It seems we are ready to leave. Now, if you don't mind, I have matters to attend to." he added coolly and picked up the unconscious gym leader. Red cried and darted forward to stop him. "Hold it right there!" Nascour snapped, "Unless you want this man dead, you will get out of my way!"

"Do as he says, everyone." May remarked quietly, "We can't afford to lose a gym leader and the guardian of the Cave of Origin." Growling angrily, the trainers stepped aside and pressed their backs to the walls of the cave as Nascour walked out, followed soon after by a group of peons.

"I wanna go home already." one of them grumbled irritably. As soon as the peons were out, Rui and her friends chased after them, startled by the sight of a helicopter descending into the the city to pick up the criminals.

"Whaddya mean 'why didn't you tell me you had a helicopter'?!" Nascour was yelling at the grumbling peon, "I didn't send for one! It was the Master! Now get your ass in there or I'll leave you here for the punks!"

"Hey! Stop! Let Wallace go!" Brendan shouted angrily. Nascour gave him a disgusted look and dumped the unconscious gym leader onto the sand.

"Take him and be grateful for it! I would have snapped his neck anyway, if I had my way. If it weren't for the fact that my master is more intent on finding the brat that looks like his son than in killing you, I'd challenge you all to a battle right now." the man declared, "But mark my words, Rui, that Snag Machine will be ours once more! It's still the property of the Cipher Corporation!" With those words, he boarded the helicopter and it swiftly rose up to the sky.

"HeartSong! Powder...!" May began to order when she was stopped by Red's hand coming down in front of her.

"Don't. He may prove useful in his own way." the older trainer murmured, "Besides, the wreckage will land here and cause far more damage than is necessary." May grumbled, but the group had no choice but to let Cipher's goons escape the city. Wallace stirred and sat up, groaning in pain, catching the attentions of the two Hoenn trainers. They raced to check on him as Red, Rui and Silver debated their next plan.

"Well, we now know that Seth isn't here. We'll have to hurry to the other two leads before those guys figure them out too." Silver muttered, "So where's the next lead? Where's the next Beginning?"

"Johto, since that's where Seth got his Pokémon from. Jupiter and Pluto were stolen from someplace in Johto when they were still in eggs. So where could that be?" Rui remarked. The Johto champion snapped her fingers and laughed.

"That's easy! The Day Care Center near Goldenrod takes care of Pokémon for trainers. Sometimes the Pokémon breed and the people there take care of the eggs until the trainer returns. They have a large collection of Pokémon eggs that some trainers let them keep as payment for taking care of the Pokémon." she explained, "The Eons must have been from there. So let's go!"

"Evice's son." Red murmured suddenly as May and Brendan caught up with them.

"Wallace should be fine now. He's going to call on his gym trainers to help him repair what they can of the cave and alert the police. What's going on?" they reported and looked between the trainers.

"Rui, did you hear what that man, Nascour, said?" Red interrupted, "He is looking for the copy of Evice's son. Is Seth a clone of Evice's son?" Rui blinked in surprise and looked up at him.

"No, he's the result of an experiment to create a super-legendary Pokémon. You know that already." she replied. Red frowned and looked skyward thoughtfully.

"Then why is he human? Unless there was something more to Seth's creation than just making a Pokémon to power the Earth Seal, he should have been born a strange mix of the legendaries." he murmured.

"Does it matter? Let's just get to Johto before they do!" Rui yelled. The group blinked and stared at her in surprise. She turned a bright red and spun around, unwilling to face them. "I'm sorry... I... I just want to find Seth before Cipher does. I'm afraid that if they get him first, I'll never see him again." she stammered, holding back tears that threatened to spill.

"Losing your temper isn't going to help find him. That goes for the rest of us." Red answered, "Brendan, call up your father and see if he's found any leads for us. We'll let the Pokémon rest for a bit before we head for the main-land again." Brendan nodded and searched for his phone. "Evice's son... Maybe if we found him, he could point us to the most likely place where Seth could be waiting." the trainer murmured, _"What do you think, Pikachu?"_

_"I think the Beginning should have stayed where it is, at the beginning. I'm tired of wandering the world with no solid clue as to where we're supposed to go."_ the mouse grumbled, _"And we need to get a paying job soon. Don't we have any clients that could use some stolen information or a few hijacked technological secrets?"_ Red grinned and rubbed his partner's head.

_"After all of this is done. I'm sure I know someone who might pay good money for data from the Cipher Corporation, once we edit out a few key things they don't really need."_ he replied and smiled again when Rui looked at him strangely. "Ah, calming the Pikachu. He's in a grouchy mood over all of this."

* * *

Caterpie grumbled to itself as it watched its charge splash about in the river. The leaves had done their job of neutralizing the poison from the sting, and already Raykyoudon had forgotten about it. Though the Caterpie was free to do as it pleased, the fact that it had been asked by the Forest Guardian to watch the kid gave him reason enough to stick by him despite the fact that, sometimes, it just wanted to tape his mouth shut.

But Raykyoudon was missing something and Celebi was off traipsing through time to find it, so Caterpie was stuck with babysitting. It looked up just in time to see Raykyoudon flop down in front of him and puff a blast of air up into his bangs, the silver-gray of his hair rustling with it.

"Hi, Caterpie! What are you doing?" he asked brightly.

_"Plotting your demise. Actually, I'm trying to figure out where the heck Celebi went and when she's coming back."_ the Pokémon replied and sighed. _"Go get something to eat, but don't go too far. I still have to tell you about trainers and Poké Balls."_

"Okay. I'll gather up some fruit. But I can't leave The Beginning, so I'll hang around the edges." the young man answered and ran off with a laugh. The Caterpie looked somewhat glum.

_"Celebi, where and **when **are you?"_ it murmured.

* * *

Elsewhere-

Celebi floated through the city in the past with the newly awakened Jirachi, who was currently fuming over the events.

_"Why couldn't you wait for me to wake up in a thousand years like all the **other** normal people in the world? Time traveling to catch me awake is cheating!"_ he griped.

_"You went willingly, WishMaker. Now keep an eye out for him. We showed up a couple of days before the creation of The Beginning."_ Celebi remarked with a grim expression. Jirachi grumbled and kept looking around.

_"The guy we're looking for... he looks like Seth, right?"_ he asked. Celebi nodded, her large eyes searching the crowds for her target. _"Ain't that him right there?"_ he then added, pointing at a silvery-haired young man running down the sidewalk towards a flower shop. Celebi glanced over and blinked.

_"Yeah! Quick, let's go! You have to deliver that dream prophecy!"_ she exclaimed and grabbed Jirachi's hand, zooming after the young man.

_"What?! You never told me I had to send **another** one of those things!!" _Jirachi wailed as the two flitted invisibly after Seth's look alike.

--

"Anca! Anca, you here?!" Wesley called out brightly as he jogged into the shop, "It's me! I just got into town and let me tell ya, it sure is a pain finding the Pokémon Center in all this ruckus!" The young woman at the counter looked up in surprise from arranging flowers and smiled, her red hair tied up in a spiky ponytail and bangs hanging over her luminous green eyes prettily.

"Wes! Glad you could make it! That commotion is the Pokémon Float contest they're starting. The culmination will be later tonight. How on earth did you find me? I forgot to e-mail you my address." the flower girl remarked. Wes shrugged.

"I asked around. Seems you're famous around here for your flowers." he replied and leaned forward onto the counter, grinning almost wolfishly. "So, Miss Flower Girl, where would you like to go for our first official date?" Anca reached across and placed her hand on his head, ruffling his hair affectionately after a moment.

"Wes, did you just fly on in for that? I thought you weren't allowed to date." she teased. The trainer made a face.

"Dad means well, but his rules sometimes get so controlling." he muttered and smiled suddenly. "Why don't we do that parade? We can watch the floats and then have dinner out."

"After I close shop. So, tell me all about your travels. Caught anything good?" Anca asked, looking over at the collection of modified Apricorns gathered on Wes's belt.

"My team's still on the training level, but my Eevee's the best! Who knew that such a cute little sucker could be so tough on the field when you need him?" he replied in mild surprise and brought the creature out onto the counter. Anca rubbed its head with a laugh.

--

Celebi peered through the door and signaled Jirachi to send in the dream. The WishMaker grumbled once, then sent the tiny gold bead into the shop, where it promptly disappeared into Wes to be called upon the next time he slept.

_"Remind me why we're messing with history again?" _Jirachi asked in irritation.

_"To help out Rui. I want this situation to work out this time!"_ Celebi growled, _"You know about the legend of the Chosen One, right? Well, for this time period, Wesley over there was supposed to be the Chosen Master born to protect Pokémon lives. His descendants would reforest Orre and eventually turn the entire region into a Pokémon haven for those abused in other regions."_

_"It doesn't work out?"_ Jirachi asked.

_"Not for this timeline. Seth is basically our last shot at getting Orre straight, though he isn't the Chosen Master of his time. Ash, I mean Red, still is, even though he claims he's abandoned it by turning quasi-mercenary on us."_ Celebi replied seriously, _"So we gotta help him out by having Wes do some extra work for us."_

_"I get the feeling someone's gonna go crazy from all this. It might be me, this time." _Jirachi sighed as a large sweatdrop appeared over his head, his ribbon-like wings drooping down.


	10. Crystal's Return

Ch 8

The group sat around the campfire by the shore of Slateport in boredom as Brendan continued to argue with his father over the phone. Wallace had demanded that they leave the city until the 'incident' had blown over, though not before Silver dragged Red into the Cave of Origin in search of Spheals that decided to lay low for the time being. She was currently fuming as the phone fight went on.

"How can fire **not **be effective against them? They're Ice-types, right? They should act like it!" Silver raged, waving her fist at no one in particular. May shrugged and sighed, resting her face on her hands as Rui stirred the stew pot and watched them.

"I told you already. Pokémon have recently evolved to use new, innate abilities to help them in battles and in life. Spheals have learned to utilize their blubber in an ability known as Thick Fat that reduces the damage from fire and electric attacks." she muttered dryly, "Get over it."

"All right! Bye!" Brendan finally declared as Red fiddled with the keys of the MasterDex. The remainder of the group glanced over at the professor's son. He scowled back at them. "Dad's still not buying the whole idea of The Beginning, but he says there's no data anywhere here of a place that could be called that." he griped, "On top of that, he's going on about some old story he heard about as a kid that nearly wiped out the tradition of Pokémon journeys. Like that has anything to do with what we're doing."

"Old tales have a tendency to hold a great deal of information that pertain to the present and future. It's all in how you choose to interpret them." Red remarked as he frowned at the device in his hand and slipped it into his breast pocket. "So that leaves us with two likely places left to search. Where to next?"

"Johto. The Day Care Center might be the place. Seth got Jupiter and Pluto there and through them he began to rediscover himself and rebel against Snagem and Cipher." Rui remarked and pulled the pot from the fire. "But first, we should have something to eat. It's going to be quite a trip from here to Johto."

"Twin Eevees are a rarity among the species. Wouldn't the Center have records of the Pokémon's family tree and possibly let us know from it who originally owned those two?" Red pressed, "And I still think that locating Evice's son will lead us to Seth's location much more quickly than just running around following half-formed leads."

"Well, we _could _do that, Mr. Kanto Champion, but we don't know **who** Evice's brat is." Brendan grumbled. Red shrugged. "Fine, be that way. Let's try to get to Prof. Elm's lab first so we can catch up on what's happened in Johto."

"Yeah, but let's also do our best to avoid my sister. She might not be too happy with the return of 'outsiders' and my cross-dressing tush." Silver pointed out and stamped her foot again. "Thick Fat, my butt! I want that Pokémon!"

* * *

Nascour focused on the chess pieces before him, the silver and gold metals gleaming beneath the light of the small office. Evice smiled as he carefully moved the queen piece and cornered Nascour's king. The Admin sat back and groaned. He had been playing the game for the past two hours and still no clues came from his boss as to where the next location for The Beginning could be.

"Patience. I taught him that." Evice remarked as he collected the silver figure that represented the king, a copy of the Seth figurine in an entirely different uniform, styled to resemble the Wesley that had died nearly thirty years before. "Wesley didn't practice it as much as I did, though. Have you decided who to bring to the party for the contest?"

"Contest, sir?" Nascour echoed blankly. Evice nodded. "I don't quite follow, sir."

"Nascour, you know that I'm getting older and that I wish to have my son stand beside me as we prepare the final assault on this wretched world. If he is to rule in my stead should I fall in the battle, he will undoubtedly need a queen to stand beside him." the rotund Cipher Head replied gravely and spread his hands out to call attention to the pawns. Each one was a tiny bride of various appearances. "Every guest invited to the celebration is required to bring a suitable young woman that may have the honor of being chosen as my Wesley's new bride." He smiled then. "I do so love a wedding. My own wife had been chosen for me, and it's up to me to continue that tradition."

"Sir, the Beginning wasn't in Hoenn. Can you think of any other place that might be considered such?" Nascour seemed to plead. Evice picked up the twin pieces, studying the replications of both Seth and Wesley.

"The eyes have changed, haven't they?" he mused, "Wes always had such an excited gleam to his eyes, always hungry to learn more about the world. So innocent and full of optimism. Why did they change, I wonder?"

"We still have two regions left, Sir Evice. Can't you give me a small lead? I can deduce the rest from that." Nascour encouraged. The portly little man set the two pieces down and looked right at him.

"The Beginning is where it ended, Nascour. It's rather well known for that. I'm sure that if you just poke around where you need to, you'll find it. You'll find The Beginning." he told him sharply and stood up. The table shook from the sudden movement and the Seth and Wes pieces fell from the chessboard. Both men looked down at them oddly. The golden figures had collapsed one on top of the other, both staring up at the ceiling.

"I'll get on it." Nascour murmured and left the room, hurrying towards the information lab. Evice only cocked his head as he studied the fallen figurines.

"That seems so profound for some odd reason." he muttered and shrugged, smiling happily as he wandered off, "Now where did I put that dusty old tuxedo...?"

* * *

_In a far off city-_

Anca swept out the shop and looked over her shoulder at her new guest. Since arriving at the city, Wesley had spent much of his time racing around and getting things ready for the date. His Pokémon had been dropped off at the local center for rest and restoration. Wes had run himself ragged making reservations at a restaurant down the street from the shop, locating the best vantage point for the parade, and generally loading Anca's arms with gifts of all kinds.

"I think you should take a break now. You don't want to burn yourself out before tonight, do you?" the red-head pointed out as he ran by with a box full of knick-knacks from an antique store several blocks over.

"Nah, I'm completely in the cool about this! Need any help? I can close up the shop for you!" Wes called back excitedly, "This is gonna be great! I can't wait for our first date!"

"Yes, you can. Go take a nap." Anca ordered and chased him into the guest room with her broom, "Sleep, Wes! You're gonna get tired out if you don't sleep!" After much running about and attempts to wheedle out of it, Wes finally plopped down on a couch and sighed in defeat.

"Okay, okay. I give." he remarked and yawned, "Wake me in ten minutes so we can get ready. We have dinner reservations at the Flaming Chiko." Anca blinked and stared at him.

"That place is expensive! How'd you manage to pay the deposit on that?!" she blurted out in surprise. Wes shrugged as he folded his arms behind his head.

"You'd be surprised what a name can get you access to." he mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

-------

Celebi and Jirachi peered through the small window at the two teens. The Steel-Psychic was still unsure about the dream he had sent and pointedly said so to his partner.

_"You worry too much. So, what's the dream got inside? Any cool references to the future or the near present?"_ Celebi gushed excitedly. Jirachi scratched his head and frowned.

_"I didn't have much time to put together something like what I gave Rui and Seth back then. Basically, it's just a load of crap with the words, 'Leave your journal with the girl' running in the background."_ he answered. Celebi yelped and grabbed him by the neck, shaking him furiously.

_"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S JUST A BUNCH OF CRUD?!"_ she screamed, _"How are we supposed to make an imprint in his head to leave behind information if all you have running in his brain are a bunch of neon lights and whooshing winds?!"_

_"Making dreams and wishes come true ain't easy, y'know!" _Jirachi stammered, _"And we really can't mess with him too much or we'll change history!"_ The other psychic let him go and sighed.

_"Yeah, you're right. I just hope his journal is enough to help Seth fill in the blanks and get that last Time Flute in Orre."_ she muttered.

* * *

HeartSong and Charizard coasted over the trees and hills of Johto as the heroes made their way towards New Bark Town. From overhead, they could see the gyms and towns being repaired after the damage that was taken during the sieges of Team Samba and the super-storm that had been unleashed in the Indigo Plateau. Silver chatted happily about the various attractions and events that took place all over the region as the two Pokémon set down by Prof. Elm's lab.

"Professor Elm! We're back! How's the reconstruction of Johto doing?!" she called out as the group climbed down and headed for the building. The door flew open and Crystal glared out at them as she stomped out. "Crystal?! What are you doing here?!"

"What's it look like, 'Brother'?! I'm going around the region to gather names on a petition to denounce you as Johto Champion!" Crystal hissed, "The title should be **mine**! The only reason **you **have it is 'cause everyone's too stupid to do a background check on the Summers family!"

"Ah, heck, not this again." Brendan groaned as Rui scowled at the girl who had caused the gash that still remained stitched along her temple. Silver folded her arms over her chest and sniffed disdainfully.

"That's low, Crystal. First you try to let me get killed by Team Samba, now you're pestering the Johto League Officials into running a DNA test on me." she growled, "Is there no line you won't cross in this stupid quest to steal my title?"

"And you've even brought back the foreigners! Hey, you little red-headed moron! You want me to give you another rock to the head so you have a matching set of stitches?!" the other trainer sneered. May brought forth a pair of PokéBalls and stepped forward threateningly.

"Do I have to beat the snot out of you again before you'll leave us alone?!" she declared but Rui walked forward and unleashed Neptune and Saturn onto the field. Crystal snorted and laughed derisively as she held out two of the spheres of her own.

"I see your man's not anywhere here. That'll make it easier to kick you around. Who knows? Maybe after I whup your leather self, I'll go and track him down for a victory dance." she declared, "Won't that be fun? I'll score one on each of you!"

"Shut up and battle me already! Unless you're still afraid of two-on-two fights!" Rui snapped, mind racing through all of the tactics Seth had used in these kinds of battles before. Crystal merely laughed again.

"Sure, right! I've been doing some extra training of my own, little girl! Give me all you got, I'll knock you out and prove my strength!" she declared, "Ready for your beating?!" Rui looked down at the twin Eons and swallowed hard as Crystal threw out her own Pokémon. "Go! Scizor and Houndoom!"

"Ah! Type match!" Silver cried in shock, "Two-on-two type match against Rui's team?!" Red threw up an arm and called out to the two girls.

"I will referee this match! We'll battle on the rules of the visitor's home region! First to have all Pokémon faint loses!" he declared. Crystal snorted derisively.

"Fine by me! I've studied the Hoenn rules long and hard! I know your weaknesses!" she shot back, "Scizor! Pin Missile on the Umbreon! Houndoom! Crunch that Espeon!"

"Neptune! Avoid that hit and use Psybeam!" Rui cried desperately and cried louder as the Psychic darted aside from the Dark attack. The dog-like Pokémon adjusted its forward momentum and brought the full force of its jaws onto the Espeon's neck. Neptune shrieked, then fell limp as the Scizor took advantage of Saturn's sudden dash for retaliation to spray the field with needles. The Umbreon writhed painfully and darted beside the Houndoom for cover, allowing it to take a portion of the damage as well.

"Ha! One down, one to go!" Crystal sneered, ignoring the pained yelp of her Houndoom as it dropped the Espeon and raced back to her side of the field. Rui called back Neptune and held the ball close to her, seeking the aura of the injured creature for signs of life. It flickered within her mind weakly, but it was enough to assure her that the female would live.

"You did your best, Neptune. Don't feel bad." she murmured and selected the Blaziken's ball hesitantly. Would it obey her? "Blaziken! You're next!" Rui yelled and unleashed the Fire/Fighting type.

"Hey! What the **hell **are you doing?! Rules stated that two-on-two battles are just two Pokémon each!" Crystal shrieked in a fury. Red looked disapprovingly at her.

"We are battling under Rui's native rules. Orre calls for a full team of six Pokémon, two on the field at any time." he remarked coldly. The trainer paled and looked at her opponent, who glared determinedly back at her. "It's your own fault for not taking all regions into accord. Johto is not the center of the Pokémon world."

_"Hey, what's going on?"_ the Blaziken asked Saturn, who winced in pain as she stood on all fours.

_"Damn Houndoom took down my sister. The Scizor hit my back legs pretty hard."_ she replied under her breath. _"Rui has no idea what your attacks are, so try to help her out as much as you can."_

_"Not quite what I had in mind for my first battle since being under the Shadow influence, but eh, beggars can't be choosers."_ it remarked with as much a grin as its beak would allow.

"Rui! In the pouch! Use the hold items!" Silver declared.

"Don't forget the Abilities of the Pokémon! Blaziken's Blaze and Umbreon's Synchronize! They'll help you!" May and Brendan both called out. Rui nodded and ground her teeth as Crystal scrambled for a potion to give to her Houndoom.

"Blaziken! Saturn! Here!" she cried and grabbed a pair of items from the pack she wore. She had seen Pluto grow stronger from wearing Black Glasses, so it would work for Saturn. She tossed them out and the Umbreon leaped to have them fall onto her face, glowing faintly with the additional strength to her Dark abilities. The second item seemed strange for a Pokémon to have. But, hey, it was worth a shot, right? Rui threw the Black Belt towards the Blaziken, who snatched at it, stared at it, then lit up so brightly Rui knew she had given it an item that fit.

"Ah, here and here!" Crystal exclaimed, throwing out a mess of berries as well as a pair of her own Black Glasses and a small satchel of Silver Powder, "Now get them! Crunch that bird thing! Scizor! Metal Claw! On anybody! Pick one yourself!" The duo snatched at berries, then the items, then stared incredulously at her.

_"Is she losing it?"_ the Scizor asked its partner.

_"I'm assuming she never had it to begin with. And you shot me!"_ it accused after a moment. They turned back to attack again as the Blaziken swiftly tied on the Black Belt and prepared for its first order.

"Okay, Blaziken! Let's have you dish out a Fighting attack to make that Houndoom pay for what it did to poor Neptune!" Rui declared, "Saturn, you can go and Bite that mean Scizor!" The two Pokémon dashed forward as Scizor blinked in confusion as to which target to take, like the Flareon before it had once done during an initial battle against Seth weeks earlier. The moment of indecision was just long enough for Saturn to clamp her jaws onto its leg. The Bug screeched and toppled onto its back, flailing and kicking to get free as she continued to gnaw angrily on it, ignoring the pain in her legs.

Houndoom raced in and set to attacking the Blaziken viciously with its teeth. It merely held his ground, gritting its beak as it took the pain, then grinned as it thrust one fist up under the creature's chin and sent it flying in a Sky Uppercut.

"All right! That's one out of there!" Rui cheered as her friends whooped encouragement for her. "Saturn! Pull back! Blaziken! Finish that Scizor with a good Fire-type move! Like Flamethrower!" she called out as Crystal called the dog back and set to searching frantically for a Revive. The Blaziken closed its eyes as the pain from the injuries it allowed itself to take fed into its innate ability. Rui watched in awe as the Hoenn native Pokémon took on a red-orange aura, then unleashed the Flamethrower attack, a twisting beam of fire on fire that was more powerful than any standard Flamethrower. Saturn raced out of the path of destruction, mouth turned up in a fierce grin of satisfaction as Crystal shrieked upon seeing the Bug/Steel type become enveloped by the flames. She called it back and howled in a mix of rage, frustration, and despair. Red shook his head, watching her.

"Just as I figured. She only brought two Pokémon." he remarked as the others stared at Crystal in shock, then looked at him in confusion. "Crystal was prepared for the Eon team only, not a full team, as per the rules of the Hoenn region. So she lost."

Rui called back the two Pokémon and watched the other girl kneeling on the ground and staring at the earth with a now blank expression. A feeling of sympathy came over her and she walked up to her, holding out a hand.

"It was a good battle, but Red is right. You really should explore the world more and take everything in with an open mind and heart. Then you'll truly be a master in all you do." Rui told her gently. Crystal gazed up at her dazedly, then took on an angry expression.

"Says you! The cheater of the Orre region!" she snapped and scrambled to her feet, slapping her hand away, "I don't need your pity! I'll get more powerful and then I'll take on you AND your boyfriend at the same time! And I'll win, too!" Rui stepped back, startled. "That's right! **Be **afraid!" Crystal shrieked and laughed crazily, a strange light in her eyes, "Learn to fear the day I come to you and that golden-eyed freak job!" Before anyone else could speak, she dashed off, running for the forests that circled the town.

"Your sister's crazy." May remarked to Silver, unable to pull her eyes from the scene. Silver shrugged.

"It was just a matter of time. But I thought that my title would be the reason why she would snap." she remarked and scratched her head, "So, uh, anyone ready to go talk to Prof. Elm now?" Rui looked at the three PokéBalls in her hands worriedly. "He can take care of them. He's got the same kind of equipment for restoring and healing Pokémon the Centers do." Silver added reassuringly and herded the group into the lab.


	11. Face the Past

Ch 9

Raykyoudon lay on the grass after eating his fill of fruit and gazed up at the clouds floating by. Caterpie curled up nearby, watching him carefully. The two had been silent for a long while, and the Caterpie felt it was safe for a nap. Just as it began to close its eyes, Raykyoudon spoke aloud.

"The Beginning is a special place, isn't it?" he asked. Caterpie uncurled and sighed as it stretched.

"Yes and no. The Beginning is a sad place for many Pokémon. Something very bad happened here." it replied. Raykyoudon turned to look at it, sitting up in surprise.

"Was someone hurt?" he asked fearfully. The Caterpie gazed out at the clearing with a somewhat haunted expression.

"It's a little worse than that, Raykyoudon. Someone died here." it whispered. Raykyoudon furrowed his brows and thought about that. Something in his mind faintly flickered. Shades of gray and green, and red...

"Died? What does that mean?" he asked. Caterpie blinked, then looked slightly panicked.

"You know! _Died!_ As in, uh, they went to sleep and never woke up." it tried to explain, "Humans bury people who die. When someone dies, lots of people are sad. Some ways of dying are worse than others. A person who dies while asleep just keeps sleeping in a different way."

"Did that someone who died here fall asleep and never wake up?" Raykyoudon pressed, eyes wide and shining with some unknown light that bewildered the smaller Pokémon.

"No, that someone was attacked by a wild Pokémon, one that was driven mad by the murders of its packmates by Pokémon poachers. The story was passed down in my family since my ancestor witnessed the whole thing." the Caterpie answered softly, "The attack was so bad that the human bled to death out here, in this clearing. The Pokémon that saw it tried to help, but it was too late." It looked out at the meadow and sighed sadly, "This place isn't a Beginning, it's an End." Raykyoudon gazed out with him.

"No, it's The Beginning. Every End is followed by a Beginning, as every new Beginning is some other Beginning's End." he replied in a suddenly much more mature tone, "My Beginning is here, because I think I'm the rest of that someone's End. It wasn't supposed to End, so I'm here to restart the Beginning."

"That makes no sense." Caterpie grumbled, hoping the subject would be dropped. It despised the responsibility of having to pass down the tale of a Chosen Master's End to other Pokémon as a warning and didn't want to have to start telling the whole thing over again.

"It makes perfect sense to me. I think that's all that really matters right now." Raykyoudon remarked brightly, "So let's go and chase the wind!"

"There isn't any..." Caterpie muttered as Raykyoudon tossed his head and a fresh gust zipped by them, tossing leaves and dandelion puffs into the air.

"There is now!" Raykyoudon laughed and clambered after the airborne debris.

* * *

Nascour yawned as he poked at the keyboard. He had entered in every possible combination for the Beginning and Seth he could think of and found little in the way of solid leads. He sat back and thought over what information he had gleaned from Evice.

"Further back than this, to the true Beginning of it all. Perhaps the Beginning refers to the research that led to the development of the DNA manipulation experiment to create the Ultimate Pokémon." he murmured and brought up the records of the DNA research from the backup of Seth's memory. "Hmm. The furthest back the records date on that leads to the Pokémon Genetics Research Laboratory on Cinnabar Island." Nascour frowned and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "But that island was covered in lava and the towns destroyed by the volcanic eruption six years ago. There's no way that Seth could possibly be there and still be alive." He sighed and rested his cheek on one fist. "Yes there is." he scolded himself, "Seth has Groudon DNA most prevalent and can withstand temperatures no normal human can. Cooled lava on a remote island will basically do nothing to him."

Nascour typed out a mail to Rezrik and his underlings to check out Cinnabar Island, then leaned back and pondered his reasons for staying on the insane plan. At first it seemed like a devious plot, something that promised great rewards in the end. All that was needed was to create a Pokémon that controlled all weather, use it to energize a machine to amplify its power, then use the resulting natural disasters they create to conquer the world. Now he was just catering to a rich old man so close to senility it bordered on blatant insanity.

"I need a new job." Nascour finally admitted to himself, under his breath.

* * *

Evice looked out at the desert from his new vantage point. He had left his hidden living quarters for higher views and contemplated his 'land'. Gazing at Mt. Battle in the distance, he tried to imagine Orre's past. A land overflowing with forests and rivers, filled with wild Pokémon of all kinds, a region rich with resources. Then the eruption that sent it to hell, the ash and burning winds that tore down the forests, the earthquakes that ripped the land and sank the rivers into dusty veins that criss-crossed the earth. It took years, but finally, Orre lost its status as a lush tropical paradise and became a desert, a land parched by the sun and the sands and deemed unfit for any but the hardiest of life.

He once dreamt of turning the land back into forest, of prices for building ranches, farms and cities skyrocketing and padding his already bulging bank accounts. His wife gave him a son to share the dream, then died tragically after giving birth to their daughter. In his son he saw her glorious eyes, gentle heart and something that made him protective of this 'gift'. Wesley took his dream of a rich land and envisioned a haven for Pokémon that had drawn bad lots in life. A land where the safety and well-being of others came first, where one's power was used to benefit others without expecting any reward.

To Evice, benefiting others was fine and good, but he needed a little something here and there to ensure that he could and _would _continue his philanthropic ways. Wesley was one who would freely give of himself until he had nothing left. Evice had to 'fix' that quickly. So the training came, teaching Wesley how to act, what to do in situations, what to say and comment on and buy to impress and entice. He almost had him properly raised when Wes suddenly decided to become a Pokémon trainer.

It had been his wife's dream and Wes decided to fulfill it in her place. He would return with a new knowledge of the world and of Pokémon, and use it to further his dream of restoring Orre's glory and creating a paradise for humans and Pokémon alike.

And then he died.

Evice smiled at the desert, the land that craved a miracle and never received it even thought it had been promised it. So what? The desert was a symbol of the never-ending cruelty of nature, of the endless cycle of man taking from Pokémon taking from man and so on. Only this time, **this **time, he would be taking back what was his and nothing would take it away. Wesley would come home with all the power needed to conquer the land that nearly stole him. He may act under the name Seth, but the DNA and the manipulation to create Wesley's body and mind made him Wes.

All that had to be done was to go back to the Beginning and Wes, with glorious golden eyes, would be in his hands again, ready to be molded into a king among men and Pokémon alike.

Evice smiled. Today was a good day, and tomorrow would undoubtedly be better. Behind him, the fax machine came to life, spitting out sheet after sheet of business associates and aristocratic acquaintances accepting the invites and expressing surface delight at the honor of having a female relative in a position to be his son's bride.

* * *

_In a city far away-_

Anca finished sweeping out the store and paused as she heard a slight whimpering. Scanning her shop quickly, she walked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. As the whimpers grew louder, she grew more insistent in her searches until she finally stuck her head into the guest room.

"Wesley?" she called in alarm as the trainer tossed and turned on the couch, a pale expression on his face, "Wes!" Anca dropped the broom and ran to shake him back to wakefulness, then held him steady as he bolted upright and gasped.

"Oh, geez!" he managed to whisper as he clutched her arms desperately, "Anca! My journal! The Time Flute!" Anca blinked at him, sitting still as Wes took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, then slowly released her. "I'm sorry. Bad dream." he apologized and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'll say. Now what about your journal? And what flute?" she asked in concern, taking the corner of her apron and wiping away the film of sweat that formed on her friend's forehead. Wes took her hand in his and looked down at it in confusion.

"It was my mother's treasure. An heirloom that she had since before she married my father. She entrusted it to me before she died, telling me where to go to find it whenever I had need of it." he replied. "I was never to tell anyone else about it, but this strange dream insisted that I write down where it is in my journal." He looked up at her, taking in her befuddled expression. "And then I have to give it to you. I have to give you my journal."

"Why?"Anca asked softly. Wes shrugged and gave her hand a small squeeze before standing up.

"I got the impression that something very important will happen someday and that journal, and you, are going to be crucial to helping that event come to pass." he went on. Anca rubbed her hand and thought about that.

"Why can't you do it? Why not hold onto it and help that event yourself?" she wondered aloud. Wes shrugged again and suddenly smiled at her.

"Ah, it's probably nothing. Say, why don't I freshen up some and we can go out to see the sights before the parade starts?" he offered, "I'll buy you anything you want. Anything! Name a gift and it's yours!" Anca smiled back at him as she stood with him.

"Wes, that's very kind of you, but you don't need to buy me presents and spend all that money." she told him. He looked confused.

"But presents make people happy, and I want you to be happy." the trainer murmured, stepping closer to her. "Because writing to you made me happy. Sharing experiences, even if only over the Internet, made me happy. Having you as a friend made me happy. I wanted you to be happy too. I wanted us to be happy... together."

"Material gifts may make some people happy, that's true." Anca admitted, "But I'm a simpler person. I don't make much money, and I don't need much either. Being with you and sharing experiences together, enjoying life and making dreams come true... **that's** what makes me happy." Hesitantly at first, she wound her arms around him in a hug and smiled, closing her eyes as she rested against him. "_You _make me happy, just being here and being yourself." Wesley hugged her in return and nuzzled her red hair.

"If that's what makes you happy, then will you... um, would you...?" he stammered sheepishly. Anca smiled wider and pulled back, looking up at him with a coy expression.

"Wes! Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" she purred. The trainer laughed nervously, rubbing his head.

"Uh, yeah." he replied bashfully, "Kinda hoping for something a bit more permanent later on, if it makes you happy, that is." Anca blinked in surprise and laughed, hugging him all the more tightly.

"You devil! We haven't even had our first official date yet and already you have wedding bells in mind!" she teased and pushed him towards the bathroom. "Freshen up and I'll close the shop." Wes dug in his heels and looked back at her with a serious expression.

"You'll take my journal anyway, won't you? Just in case?" he asked. Anca sighed and nodded.

"I don't see why. You'll remember to use the information yourself anyway." she replied and fetched it from Wes's pack. The thick book was leather-bound, with gold lettering on the cover and trimming the edges of each leaf of paper. She stared at it in shock. "Wes! This book is like a small fortune on its own!" Wesley winced as he opened the bathroom door.

"Ah, yeah. I've been holding back a few things." he murmured and looked back at her, "You know the founder and CEO of the Cipher Corporation? The real estate brokerage and construction conglomerate?" She nodded slowly, still staring at him. "Well, he's... my father." Wes finally admitted.

"Oh." was her only response. Wes looked irritated.

"That's all? Doesn't it make you think twice about what you said, about money not being something that could make people happy? Would you have said the same if you knew beforehand that I was rich?" he asked. Anca set the journal aside and looked him straight in the eye.

"Wesley Evice, I loved you from the moment I read your letters. I love you for your kindness, your gentleness, your love for the world and all that is in it." she told him bluntly, taking minor note of his wide eyes and red flush, "I love you for wishing happiness for others when I can tell you don't have much of it for yourself. I love you for _who you are_, not for what you have or don't have." She smiled gently then. "And your soul; I love you for your bright and pure heart, a heart free of darkness and shining with a light that will one day guide all who need a caring hand to you."

"Oh." Wes managed to utter after swallowing hard. Anca chuckled and shook her head.

"Wesley, sometimes you can be impossible. Go freshen up!" she declared with a laugh and whirled around, disappearing out the door and leaving Wes standing there, trying his hardest to figure out what had just happened.

--------

Jirachi sat on the windowsill, gazing at Celebi, who watched the events in the room with her deep green eyes filled with tears.

_"It must be agony to want to change the past and know that you can't."_ he whispered softly to her. Celebi didn't move her eyes away from the scene before her.

_"Jirachi, do you know how much I torture myself with this? I come here almost every day and wonder if changing this past would really make the future any better, or would I just be deluding myself and everyone else with false hope?"_ she answered and closed her eyes, fighting back a sob. _"Do you have any idea what I've put us all through to repair this broken time?!"_

_"What?"_ the Wish Maker asked, but Celebi refused to answer.

* * *

Rezrik groaned audibly as the peons gathered around the latest instructions sent to them by Nascour. Cinnabar Island, their next destination, was famous for its genetics research labs, the flaming hot and powerful Pokémon Gym, the hot springs, and the eruption that buried every town in lava and ash. The group blinked at the orders, then slowly slid their glares at Rezrik.

"Man, I don't wanna go there, either. Are they all freaking insane?!" the team leader griped.

"Well, what are we going to do? They'll kill us if we don't go, and we could end up dead if we do!" one of the women declared irritably. Rezrik tapped his fingers together and frowned.

"Nascour said to go check it out, right?" he remarked and grinned as the others grumbled affirmations. "But he didn't say we had to land on the island, did he?"

"Not really." another peon answered vaguely, "So what?" Rezrik turned in his seat and grinned up at the group.

"So we take our sweet time getting there, that's what! We'll hop a boat or plane, swing by it a couple times and if we don't see anything to show there's life, which I doubt we will, then we can make for Neon City and gamble the night away!" he plotted brightly, "We can tell the boss that we're waiting for next orders after saying there's nothing on the island!"

"Hey, yeah! I haven't had a vacation in a long time! Neon City's casinos are even better than the ones in Celadon!" the first woman exclaimed, "And they've got the latest in beauty parlors and all their perfumes and body oils are trucked in directly from Celadon City!"

"Let's do it, then! Hell ya!" a third peon cheered, "Neon City, here we come!" Whooping and cheering, the group quickly dressed from the Cipher suits into their trainer disguises. "It might take a while to get passage from Hoenn to Kanto, but we've got all the time in the world!" Rezrik nodded and donned the yellow and black hat he had bought in the Lilycove Department store.

"First I get some fun out of Cipher's open bank account, then I'll make a run for it." he decided and shouldered his bag, "Okay, gang! Neon City or bust!" The group thrust their fists collectively into the air and whooped a final time before making their way to the nearest airport.

* * *

Professor Elm seemed less nervous without Seth in the midst. He listened to the story of what had happened outside, then whisked the three Pokémon off to heal and recover. Red stood to one side, eyes intent on the MasterDex in his hand, while the others tried to get Elm's attention.

"So, things are okay around here? The gyms are being rebuilt?" Silver asked, dogging the scientist as he bustled about with books and papers.

"Yes, yes. Everything's going fine. Silver, hand me that article over there." Prof. Elm remarked absently as he dumped the collection onto a table. The Johto trainer grabbed a newspaper clipping and handed it to him. Rui looked around the lab and jumped when a Croconaw ran by. For a brief moment, she thought it was Seth's, but this one sported a pink bow around its neck.

"Hey, cool! What kind of Pokémon is that?" May exclaimed and scooped it up, hugging it. "This place is so awesome! Why haven't we come here before to check out Johto Pokémon?!" The Croconaw blinked in surprise, then started to squirm.

"That's a Croconaw, Water-type, evolves from Totodile." Red reported and frowned at his computer. May set the creature down and cocked her head at it.

"That right, huh? What's the nature and ability?" she asked no one in particular.

"Shouldn't we get going to the Day Care Center?" Rui pressed, "I don't think this place is The Beginning." Silver sighed and nodded. Prof. Elm looked up at them with a steady serious expression.

"Wait just a minute. What is going _on _this time? Silver, you should have stayed here after that strange storm tore through the Indigo Plateau. Why are you still traveling with May, Brendan, Rui and Red?" he asked, "And what happened to that other guy? Seth?"

"The storm sort of blew him somewhere else." Silver replied quickly, "So, we're searching for him. He's at a place called The Beginning, but we don't know where or what it is." Rui walked up to the table and sifted through the paperwork in search of something to do while the Pokémon healed.

"Did my dad call you, Prof. Elm? Do you have any clues as to what could be called a Beginning? Maybe we can get a solid lead to check after the Day Care Center." Brendan inquired. Elm shook his head.

"No, but he did mention a story from long ago that nearly abolished the tradition of Pokémon journeys. I don't understand the connection with this situation, so I'm searching for the articles on it." he answered as Red jerked his head up in surprise.

"The one about the trainer who died nearly thirty years ago? I thought that was a story told to scare disobedient kids!" he cried, "That **actually **happened?!" Prof. Elm nodded and the elder trainer looked sick. "What could have made a Pokémon kill a human being?" he whispered as Pikachu gasped and drooped his ears in sorrow.

"You'll call if you find anything, right?" Silver asked as the machine nearby beeped and spat out a tray with the three PokéBalls on it. Rui cried happily and gathered them up, hugging the spheres.

"They're okay now! Thank you so much, Prof. Elm!" she exclaimed. The older man smiled back at her and pushed his glasses up.

"That's all right. Now, you'd better get to the Day Care Center before they close tonight." he replied and waved as the group headed out to fly towards Goldenrod City.

_"I can't believe it. A Pokémon killed a human. How? Why?"_ Pikachu murmured and looked down at Red, who returned to his work glumly. _"What are you doing now?"_

_"I've got several hits on the network on the name Evice. I'm looking for his son."_ Red replied, _"And according to this, he has only one son, named Wesley. The MasterDex collected quite a load of data on him. He's a trainer, so I'm going to have it use the information to trace his path. If we're lucky, it'll pinpoint his most recent location and we can go to him and ask for a lead."_ Pikachu cocked his head.

_"Wesley? Wesley... Why does that sound familiar?"_ he muttered. Red clapped the MasterDex closed as he released Charizard and climbed on with Rui and Silver.

_"Project: WSLY; the name of the experiment that produced Seth. We heard about it at Nett's house, remember? Which brings up another question and mystery to this whole adventure."_ he added darkly as they flew to the Day Care Center, _"Why would Cipher name the experiment to create Seth after Wesley?"_

* * *

The Day Care Center seemed so peaceful as the sun began to set over Johto. The heroes knocked on the doors and waited eagerly as the two old proprietors of the shop opened up and peered out at them.

"I'm sorry, dearies, but we're closing shop. Please come back tomorrow." the old woman remarked. Rui looked tearful, trying to look charming despite her Snagger disguise.

"Oh, please, let us in! I'm looking for a friend of mine and he might have gotten lost on your land!" She dug around in her pockets and pulled out the Balls that held Jupiter and Pluto. "I have his Pokémon here and they'll check the area for him. I promise they'll be good!"

"We've already made our rounds for the night." the elderly man grumbled, "There's no one out there!"

"It's very important, sir and madam." Red interrupted smoothly. "The young man we are looking for is quite sick and needs his medicine. If we can just have his Pokémon look around for a brief time, it will save us a lot of trouble in this search. The Espeon and Umbreon are very close to him and will head straight for him if they sense his presence."

The elderly couple looked at each other for a moment, trying to come to a decision silently, then sighed and nodded, allowing them in. They led the group to the rear doors that lead to an open acre of land where Pokémon of all sorts were preparing to sleep, while others were stirring for their nighttime habits.

"The Eons may search the premises, but you must stay here. We have had many eggs and Pokémon stolen from us over the course of the forty years we've run this shop. We finally had to take measures to protect this place after a pair of Eevee eggs were stolen long ago." the older woman pointed out as Rui released the male twins.

_"Stolen Eevee eggs?"_ Jupiter murmured in shock at the last comment, _"A pair of stolen Eevee eggs? Who would do such a thing?"_ Pluto shook his head and shrugged.

_"A thief, who else? Haven't we stolen Pokémon and other valuable things over the years? Why should a pair of Eevee eggs concern us?"_ he remarked. He scanned the group quickly. _"Seth still isn't back. What's taking so long to find him? And why did they call us out here in this place? Do they need us to Snag something?"_

"Jupiter, Pluto, search the land and see if you can find any signs of Seth. This is the Beginning of his escape from Cipher's Shadow influence." Rui told the two. The looked up at her in confusion, then looked at Red.

_"You don't know. I can tell by Jupiter's comments."_ Red murmured, _"The two stolen Eevee eggs were you two. Seth stole you from here and after hatching you, learned to love others. That love began to unravel Cipher's hold on him." _The Eons jumped back in shock and Rui looked up at Red.

"You told them, didn't you?!" she accused, "You could have waited until we found Seth and had him explain their origins to them! You hurt their feelings!"

_"We're the ones stolen?! We're Johto Eevees?!"_ Jupiter exclaimed in a stunned voice, _"No way!"_ Pluto shook his head.

_"Agh, Jupe, it doesn't matter! Where Seth came from, where we came from, it means nothing!"_ he snapped.

_"But...!"_

_"No! No buts! The past is just that! The past! Just because we are from this place doesn't make us any less Seth's Pokémon and friends!"_ the Umbreon scolded. The Espeon sat down and whimpered, ears flattened against his head. _"We may have been laid here, but we were born and raised in Orre. We were taken care of and loved by Seth. As far as I'm concerned, I was never a Johto Eevee! I was an Orre Eevee, now an Orre Umbreon! Far stronger and more experienced and better trained than any Johto Umbreon!"_ Pluto went on as the group watched in awe at the conflict before them. _"I am loyal to Seth; we've been together all our lives! If you want to try reclaiming your Johto roots, fine! Stay here and be handed to a trainer that knows nothing about you! But I won't be trapped in the past. I won't allow myself to ask 'What ifs' about this region!"_

_"Because **we **were stolen for a special purpose, Jupe. Fate chose **us **to be the key to Seth's freedom, and we had to be taken from our home region to fulfill our purpose. To teach Seth to love others, so that he would be free of the Shadow experiment and could start the process to become Raykyoudon, the Weather's Master."_ the Umbreon finished in a low voice. Jupiter blinked at him, then looked at the patch of land.

_"We were, weren't we? He could have stolen any number of eggs to be his partners. He chose us instead. Destiny chose us to be his saviors, but **he **chose us to be his closest friends." _he whispered and smiled slightly, _"Johto's nice and all, but it's not home without Seth. So let's find him and go home! Home to the land of Orre!"_ With a yelp of joy, the two Eons leaped to their feet and bounded out onto the acre, eyes and ears open for their master and friend, Jupiter's psychic abilities stretching further to search for his mind.

"They've cleared things up now. They'll be fine." Red remarked when Rui looked at him questioningly. "Sometimes to move on, one must face the truth of his past." His eyes seemed to flicker, as if to hide an additional bit of information, but he shrugged and the feeling passed.

In a few minutes, the Eons came loping back and reported quickly what they learned on their jog around the acre. Red translated the results. Though the search was as thoroughly done as the ones they've made on potential burglary victims, no sign of Seth was found.

"Well, damn it, where the hell could he be?" Silver griped under her breath as Rui thanked the couple and led the team outside.

"The last lead we have is Cinnabar Island." Brendan replied, "And if that comes up a bust, we'll be back at square one with no idea of where to go next."

"I asked Nett some time ago to look up Realgam Tower's blueprints and search it for a secret path, like that kid in Orre said. If Cipher is trying to get to Seth, they may try to take him there. Realgam is also where Cipher's first attempt to conquer the world failed and caused the downfall of the corporation. It was the beginning of their end." Rui stated, thinking hard about the situation, "If Cinnabar doesn't pan out, we can ask him if he's found anything and head for the tower in Orre."

"We'll fly to Cinnabar in the morning. Let's find a hotel and get some rest. The Eons may need some time to settle down and loosen up for any upcoming troubles." May pointed out, "Kanto is the origin of truly serious Pokémon battles. The restrictions and rules, the law of the land, is powerful enough to make even a Hoenn Champion like me think carefully about what I'm doing there." The group agreed and searched out a place to stay.

* * *

Far away from the troubles of the heroes and the semi-sinister Cipher peons, a simple flower girl began to prepare to close shop for the day. The term was moot as she was in her early thirties, helping her elderly mother run the store that was often the talk of the bridal community. She looked back at her mother as she swept out the shop and gave her a small smile.

"Shop's ready for the night, Mother. Are you ready for bed?" she asked. The woman, near fifty years of age, sighed as she smoothed back a stray hair, the fading red still fighting the many gray hairs that speckled her hair bun.

"In a minute, Deborah. You'd best be on your way home to that husband of yours. Tell the kids that I'll come visit tomorrow." she answered. Deborah nodded and stayed to watch her mother's nightly ritual.

The elder woman went to a dark cherry wood cabinet behind the flower shop counter and opened it. Within its confines was a single photo of a young man and woman, and a thick leather bound book worn by age and use. Deborah leaned against the doorway and folded her arms over her chest, gazing sadly at the scene. Her mother took in the sight of the photo and book, still luminous green eyes filled with unshed tears, then stroked the cover of the book once to remove the dust before placing a small plate of flowers in front of the framed picture and closing the cabinet.

"He was a special person, Deborah. Before I met your father and had you and your brother, he was the light in my life." she said suddenly and turned to face her daughter. "Go on home, Debs. I'll be fine." Deborah nodded again and left, the tinkling of the bell hanging over the door the only sound remaining in the little shop.


	12. The Anniversary

Ch 10

Caterpie stumbled out of the cave that morning and glared at the one creature that was the cause of its early rise from sleep. Raykyoudon stood in the field not far away, a thunderstorm raging overhead and the winds lashing at his slender figure, whipping the coattails of his jacket around.

_"Raykyoudon! What are you doing?! Knock it off!" _the little Pokémon yelled as it scampered across the grass as fast as its tiny suction feet would go. Raykyoudon looked back at him in surprise, then took on a blank expression, wobbling slightly on his feet. The storm swirled faster, then suddenly broke apart, leaving only darkened clouds and falling rain to show anything had been there. All this played out in concert to the Weather's Master collapsing onto the grass, trembling.

"It hurts." he murmured and gazed over at his friend and caretaker with a haunted expression, "It's cold and it hurts." Caterpie backed away and took in the scene with a horrified look. It was playing out like the one in its story, about the death of the Chosen Master and his final plea for help from the Pokémon that gathered around him in anguish. But the storm hadn't ended that night, just kept hurling out lightning and thunder to hide the violent event and ensure he would never see sunrise again.

_"Raykyoudon, snap out of it. Wake up!"_ Caterpie snapped shakily and felt relief wash over him as the glazed look on the young man's face cleared and took on an expression of confused concern.

"Caterpie? What am I doing out here?" he asked and sat up, looking himself over. "I'm all wet! Did I fall in the river?" The little Pokémon shook his head.

_"Please don't ever do that again here. Not with the day so close."_ it merely remarked softly and turned away to find breakfast.

* * *

Rui hugged Red's back tightly as she peered over the Charizard's shoulder at the ocean below her. Several hours after they left Goldenrod City, the heroes were flying towards the uninhabited Cinnabar Island. HeartSong called out joyfully as Brendan continued to argue with his father over the phone. 

"Why should that story matter?! Dad! Wait, the signal's breaking up! Dad, can you hear me?!" he yelled. Rui sighed and gazed skyward.

"Seth, wherever you are, please be safe and sound. I'm coming to find you, but please, leave us a clue to where you are!" she murmured. Silver scanned the distance and frowned at the swirl of thunderclouds that hovered in broken formation far away from them.

"There it is!" Red suddenly declared and the two Flying types descended towards an island covered in cooled ash and lava. "Cinnabar Island, we meet again. May all that perished here rest in peace." They touched down and gathered on the crunchy beach.

"Should we spread out and search for Seth then?" Brendan asked as May and Red recalled the Pokémon. He had given up trying to make sense of his father's words, though he was able to make out the words 'City', 'years', and 'famous'.

"May as well; that's what we're here for, isn't it?"Silver remarked, "Or should we let the Eon twins run loose for us again?" Red kicked at the gravel and chunks of rock. Scanning the island again, he pulled the MasterDex from his pocket and flipped it open, Pikachu immediately switching shoulders to watch him.

"The area is devoid of other life, so they should be safe on their own and they'll travel far faster than any of us." he decided, "In the meantime, let's sit here and plan something out. I've collected some information on Evice's son." The others looked back at him curiously as Rui set Jupiter and Pluto out.

"Okay, guys. I'm counting on you! Go find Seth!" she told them and watched as they nodded and raced off, bounding over the dunes as they began to search.

Red sat down and opened up a laptop from his pack, a rarely used item as his MasterDex did all the work he needed for his trade. Connecting the two together, he allowed the data to scroll across the screen. The trainers gathered around and watched it, unsure of what to make of the maps and articles.

"Garik Evice, founder and CEO of Cipher Corporation, a major real estate brokerage and construction conglomerate, and his wife, Diana Evice, were blessed with the birth of a healthy son. Named Wesley Evice, this son grew in the training of his father's tutors to become next in line to inherit the Evice fortune and the Cipher Co. stock. At the age of eighteen years, he left his birthplace and home in Orre to become a Pokémon trainer. Last recorded location is still being tabulated." Red summed up as the laptop automatically pointed to each article and map location in correspondence to his words. Rui's PDA beeped and she pulled it out to check her e-mail as May frowned and looked up at Red.

"All of these articles are dated about thirty years ago." she pointed out. Red shrugged.

"Which puts Wesley at about forty-eight years now. This brings us to a new mystery. Seth was created as a result of the research and experiments conducted under the name Project: WSLY." the champion remarked, "If Wesley was so important and loved by Orre's residents at the time, why would his father go to the trouble to turn an honest corporation into a criminal syndicate to create a copy of him?"

"That's weird." Rui suddenly remarked. The others looked to her. "Nett found the floor plans of Realgam Tower, but he says there's two versions of the same tower. He wants to know which one we want."

"Why would there be **two **blueprints of the same tower?" Silver asked in confusion. Red scratched his head.

"What's the difference between them?" he asked. Rui typed out the question and waited for a response. It came a moment later.

"The first version is dated March 13, 2134. The second one is dated June 3, 2140." she read aloud and cocked her head. Brendan did the math in his head quickly.

"Strange. It'll be June third in about seven days. That will be exactly thirty years old." he remarked. Red frowned and looked down at his data.

"2140? That was the year Wesley left for his journey. In the same year, Realgam Tower was torn down and plans to rebuild it were drawn up, not to be implemented until..." he paused and gave the others a confused expression, "Last year."

"That was the year Seth ran away from Team Snagem and rescued me." Rui remarked, "What a strange coincidence." Silver shook her head furiously.

"I don't like this. This _reeks _of setup. What is going **on**? Wesley is connected to the Realgam Tower's destruction and revised blueprint as well as the namesake to the experiment that created Seth? How? More importantly, **why**?" she growled. Red studied the MasterDex a little longer, then pressed a few buttons.

"Dexter has finished tracing Wesley's path. His last stop was in Neon Town, in the Kanto region. After that, he never continued his journey." he announced.

"Why not?" May asked, resting her chin on her hands as she looked up at him. Red continued scanning the data silently, then blinked. His eyes widened in shock as he reread the information. "What's wrong?"

"He never continued his journey..." Red went on, voice cracking, "because he died there. Wesley Evice died at the age of eighteen on May 31, 2140. Tomorrow is the thirty year anniversary of his death."

* * *

Rezrik and the peons clutched their plane tickets tightly as they boarded the seaplane. They made the excuse that they wanted to take a quick look at the island, as so many of their happy vacations had taken place there when they were young. The pilot relented at the puppy-eyed expressions on their faces and agreed to do a flyby. 

"You sure the boss'll accept a flyby as a search?" Loraine, one of the female peons, whispered fiercely. Rezrik smiled as he leaned back in his seat, the plane already beginning to take off.

"Trust me. He's not here to watch us, so we're safe." he replied and already began counting all the coins he would collect in the casinos of Neon City. "We do this quick, and then we'll go for some fun in the lights of Neon City!" Loraine sat back and gazed out the window apprehensively.

"Somehow, I doubt things will be so good for us." she muttered under her breath.

* * *

Evice watched as the first early party-goers arrived and smiled. Dozens of men and women, bringing with them many lovely young girls, any of whom would be a fitting bride for his son. 

He turned to Nascour, who sat firmly at his station, typing furiously on the keyboard to find additional places where he could be. Shaking his head, the round man walked up to him and pat his shoulder. Nascour nearly jumped and looked at him in confusion.

"You still haven't found the Beginning, have you?" Evice purred. The underling swallowed hard.

"Sir, if I could just have a bit more information..." Nascour stammered out, eyes flicking towards the cameras picking up the images of rich guests entering the tower's secret entrance. Realgam officials hadn't noticed anything wrong, too busy trying to cater to the trainers that flooded the grounds.

"Think about it, Nascour. Why did I start all this?" Evice murmured and placed the two golden chess pieces down next to Nascour's hand, the king and queen. "Now, try a little harder and work a little faster. We have so many brides to attend to!" With that, Evice left the room, humming a birthday tune to himself. Nascour studied the two pieces, then yelped in shock.

"Of course! That's the reason!" he exclaimed and resumed the search on the database, this time entering Wesley's name instead of Seth's. A single window bloomed open, containing a copy of Wes's obituary from thirty years ago. "Wesley Evice, age 18, rests in peace in the Neon Town Cemetery. Survived by his father, Garik Evice, sister Sera Evice, and loved by Anca Fleur... Neon Town... Neon City... that's in Kanto!"

Quickly typing new orders to the peons, Nascour's mind raced. He didn't have much time left, but if he could get the helicopter to take him to Kanto and the peons lay siege to the city, he could search the area for Seth. The Beginning was there in that city of lights; Wesley's death had been the trigger for the Cipher Corporation's turn to evil!

* * *

_Neon Town, May 30, 2140-_

Wesley finished writing out the melody that had played in his mind during the dream and closed his journal. He looked up and smiled as Anca Fleur twirled into the room, decked out in her best dress and a huge blue flower in her hair.

"Ready to go!" she announced and hooked her arm into his, laughing happily. Wes pressed a kiss to her forehead and led her out the shop on their first date.

Following behind them came Celebi and Jirachi, arguing over what the next step would be.

_"We sent the dream, he left the journal; I say we get out of here and never speak of this whole thing again!" _Jirachi griped, _"I want to get back to sleep. Man, you still don't ever want to just leave time the way it is, don't you?"_

_"I told you this timeline was broken and I'm just trying to fix it! Now shut up and let's go! We're going to advance by twenty-four hours!"_ Celebi snapped back.

_"Why?"_

_"It's the final day, dummy! I have to be sure that the journal remains in Anca's hands on the last day. If it doesn't, then everything we've worked for in the future will be lost!"_

_"How do you figure that?" _Celebi paused in mid air and sighed.

_"Raykyoudon's a bit impetuous about finding out what's going on around him. He'll try to learn about The Beginning from the one who experienced it. Without the third Time Flute to restore the blocks of memory that weren't recorded by Cipher's computers, he'll keep Wes with him. And if Cipher gets him, with Wes still around, then it's only a matter of forcing the spirit to remain in his body. Cipher gets Wesley back but completely under their command, and we lose Seth, the embodiment of our new hopes for Orre."_ she explained and frowned at Jirachi's glazed look, _"All right! We don't make sure she has the book, the bad guys win! Do you get that at least?!"_

_"So we're jumping to tomorrow to find that out?"_ Jirachi asked. Celebi nodded. _"Okay, just making sure I don't have to send anymore crazy, prophetic dreams."_

_"Listen, Jirachi. I have a favor to ask of you."_ Celebi added, opening the portal to the future.

_"Shoot."_

_"If what I do in this time doesn't fix the future, grant me a wish."_ she went on. _"Grant my wish and erase me from this existence. Because I can't stand to live in a timeline that I've destroyed."_ Jirachi only stared at her in shock. She offered no other explanation, just took the two of them into the next day, leaving Wes and Anca to enjoy the parade passing by the shops.

* * *

Neon City, May 30, 2170- 

"Happy Birthday!" Deborah exclaimed to her son, the blue-eyed boy staring at his cake. "Say hi to grandma, honey!"

"Is this white cake again?" the boy muttered and smiled up at the red-headed woman entering the house, "Hi, Gran! Please say you brought chocolate!"

"Of course I did, Jim! I need to talk with your mom a bit, so why don't you go and see the presents I brought in the car?" she remarked and watched the boy cheer and run out of the room. Deborah frowned and put her arms akimbo.

"Mom, what's that all about?" she asked in irritation. The older woman pulled the leather-bound book she had seen the night before. "You're going to the grave-site today? But the anniversary is tomorrow. What is this all about?" she pointed out.

"It was written in his final entry." the other woman answered faintly, "I have to keep the journal with me today. The event that he told me about is very soon." She slid it back into her handbag and set a small gift on the table beside the cake. "I just came to let you know where I'll be for the duration of today's party. I wish I could be here, but I can't let the event take place without me and this book. So wish me luck that I play my part correctly."

"I'm sure you will, Anca." the daughter murmured and watched her leave quietly.


	13. Resurrection

Ch 11

Caterpie huddled in a ball, staring up at Raykyoudon as the young man stood in the clearing. The winds swirled around him, tearing up the grass and lashing at the trees around them. Raykyoudon had his eyes closed, focusing on something, then suddenly opened them and gazed out at the forest.

_"Fallen spirit long since gone, lift your eyes up to the sun. Reveal to all your history. Walk this earth once more in me!"_ he whispered. The clouds above them rushed to hide the sun as he repeated the words, calling out to some unknown entity.

_"Raykyoudon! Knock it off! You're messing with something you don't know how to control!"_ the Caterpie cried and shimmied away as mist began to creep into the clearing. The sun was blocked and the winds blew harder as Raykyoudon lifted his voice to louder and louder volumes.

_"Fallen spirit long since gone! Lift your eyes up to the sun! Reveal to all your history! Walk this earth once more in me!"_ he shouted, ignoring the wind whipping his coattails and hair around. The mist began to form a shape before him. "Chosen Master of Broken Time! Tell me the Beginning! Tell us all!" Raykyoudon yelled.

_"No! Raykyoudon! You have no idea what you're asking for! Send it back! This is wrong!"_ Caterpie wailed, eyes wide with shock and terror. The young man merely stood his ground, watching the ghostly form that stood before him.

_"Pokémon who walks as Man; here I made my final stand. Give my soul peace overdue; lest I live again in **you**!"_ the specter murmured as soft as the mist around it. Without another word, it rushed forward and vanished into Raykyoudon's body. The young man arced back with a half-strangled cry, eyes wide as control of his body was ripped away. The winds ceased blowing as he bent forward, gasping for air, hands clutching his throat.

_"Raykyoudon! Are you okay?!" _Caterpie exclaimed and froze as he turned to look at him strangely. Instead of the golden eyes it had been used to seeing, deep blue ones stared back.

"I... I'm alive..." the young man whispered in awe.

* * *

"Dammit, if he's dead, how can he help us?!" Silver demanded of Red, who stared at the obituary displayed on the MasterDex. He blinked and read it once more.

"It says he was loved by Anca Fleur of Neon Town. It's Neon City now. Let me run a scan on her name and see if she's still there and still alive." he remarked as Rui gazed at the sky, tears running down her cheeks.

"How sad; Evice's son died so young. Is that why he wanted Seth to be created? Sera called him her brother, so maybe Evice wanted his son back?" she whispered to herself and rubbed at her eyes.

"She's still there! C'mon, pack up and let's move! This is our best and last chance to find Seth!" Red exclaimed as he grabbed the laptop and shoved it into his pack. "Move it!"

The group scrambled to assemble their things and climbed onto HeartSong and Charizard. The two Pokémon took to the sky, racing towards the bright city in the distance, completely unaware of the fleet of choppers already halfway there. Rui removed the sunglasses that rested on her head and studied them.

"Seth, we're coming for you. Do you want to see me like this?" she murmured, "Will you love me more if I was a Snagger like you?" She released the sunglasses, watching them flit away on the wind towards the unknown. "Seth! Come back to me!" Red glanced back at her as they flew faster.

"Neon City hasn't had problems with gangs or thugs before, not even when Team Rocket still had power. It would be best if you returned to your original clothes when we reach the city." he told her. Rui nodded, still gazing back at the sky. Yes, it would be best to return to her old ways. Seth wouldn't know her from another enemy Snagger without her cute pigtails and bright clothes. Would he?

* * *

Rezrik winced as he read the e-mail that had been sent to him. Amid the bright lights and hot beauties of Neon City, he could feel his blood run cold. The sound of oncoming air traffic was of little comfort as he lifted his gaze to the sky. Dark clouds whirled above the city as the people screamed and scattered while a fleet of choppers descended upon the streets.

Dozens of peons raced out onto streets, scouring the area for signs of Seth as Nascour emerged and looked around, tapping his foot impatiently. Rezrik sighed and jogged up to meet with him, hoping he would survive this encounter as well.

"Rezrik! I'm surprised to see you here so quickly! Have you found Seth's whereabouts yet?" the Admin rambled quickly, eyes shifting nervously, "The party is starting soon and we can't afford to lose time."

"We searched Cinnabar Island and found nothing, and I'm not sure if he's in the city. We saw no signs of Seth anywhere here." Rezrik lied carefully, wondering what he meant by a party. Nascour waved him off and looked towards the forest outside the city.

"Fine, fine. The article said Wesley been found dead in the forests, so let's gather the troops and investigate that area. I need for you to find Anca Fleur and get additional information on where he may be." he murmured and climbed back into the chopper, "And hurry!"

"The flower shop lady? What the hell would Wesley have to do with a flower shop chick?" Rezrik muttered as he ran back to the casinos to deliver the news.

* * *

Caterpie watched as the spirit in Raykyoudon's body walked around in a slow circle, gazing at himself in confusion. It had seen helicopters flying past overhead and felt a sense of dread wash over it. Raykyoudon was oblivious, studying his hands with a careful eye, trying to puzzle something out.

_"What are you doing, Raykyoudon?! What have you brought down on yourself?!"_ the Caterpie yelled. The young man shot it a startled look before stepping back from it.

"Wh-what?! I can understand you?!" he cried and shook his head, "I don't understand what's happened, but I'm not Ray-whatever. My name is Wesley Evice and I was on a search to find a wild Pokémon." He paused and looked around in confusion. "But something went wrong... and I died here... didn't I?" Caterpie was about to respond when Wes yelped and his hands flew to his head. "Yow! I have to go back to Neon Town! Anca must be worried sick!"

_"You can't leave this place! This is The Beginning!"_ the little Pokémon shouted. Wes glared back at it, a PokéBall in one hand.

"And you're beginning to annoy me! Go!" he yelled, throwing the ball at the Caterpie. With a squeal of shock, it vanished into the sphere and struggled to get loose. Eventually it tired out and Wes grabbed the newly acquired Pokémon. "Strange Apricorn... oh well. Now, to find Anca!"

He raced for the edge of the clearing, intent on getting back to his old life. However, the moment he reached the limit of The Beginning, a surge of pain and feelings of loss and despair rushed into him, knocking him back into the boundary of the meadow. Stunned, Wes sat up and stared at the forest. Something out there was bound and determined to make sure he did not return to civilization.

"What's happening to the world?" he murmured.

* * *

Anca plucked the last of the vines from Wesley's headstone and stood up, gazing at the helicopters starting their sweeps across the forest. With a sigh of resignation, she turned and headed back to her old shop, unaware of the two groups of people searching frantically for her.

She arrived at her shop to see a group of trainers peering into the windows. Blinking, she paused and took in the auras surrounding each one. One shone so brilliantly with pure light, it made her wonder if she was related to herself. The others had fainter auras, still pure, still good, but one made her curious. The last aura was dark, almost evil, but it was a mask, covering a brighter aura that hummed softly with a trained power.

"Why do you hide yourself?" Anca asked, startling the group as they spun to face her. She looked directly at Red. "Why do you hide your kind and gentle soul?" Red looked faintly surprised as the others looked up at him in confusion. He smirked and shook his head.

"To protect those who could lose their own to darkness. In this world, I have no need for a soul like that." he answered. Anca mused over it, then looked at Rui. Her eyes went wide and her hand flew to her mouth as she stepped back in shock.

"It can't be!" she whispered. Rui blinked, her cute pigtails back in order, her old outfit snug and comfortable on her once more. The Snag Machine rested on her arm, ready and waiting for use. "You! You are from the same pool as I am!"

"'Scuse us?" May asked, eyeing her warily, "Are you all up in the noggin?" Anca shook her head.

"I'm sorry. Let's go inside. We'll introduce ourselves when we are away from eyes and ears." she explained and opened the shop, letting the group in and then locking up once more.

--

"My name is Anca Fleur." Anca finally introduced herself, "And I think... no, I believe, **you **are the people I have been waiting thirty years to meet."

"I'm Red, this is May Thorne, Brendan Birch, Silver Summers, Rui Roane and Pikachu. We've been searching for a close friend named Seth, and we've come to you for help locating him." the mercenary introduced the group vaguely.

"Yeah, so what's with the sudden yelp at Rui?" Silver asked, "You act like you saw a ghost!" Anca pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed.

"Rui, correct?" she asked, looking at the redhead. Rui nodded. "You have the ability to see and sense auras, right?" Again a nod. "I am the same way." Anca placed her bag on the counter as the others found places for themselves around the shop to listen. "I have the ability to see the auras of people around me. I can't see them very well, but my vision becomes very clear if I touch a person. It is a trait that is passed down to certain girls from an old lineage." She waved her hand in dismissal, "It is from another country, but that's besides the point. You're here to find Seth? What assures you that I can be of help?"

"We will tell you what we know, but then you tell us what you have in the way of info. Deal?" Brendan pointed out. Anca nodded. "Right then. Uh, Red? You know this better than any of us." The older man sighed in irritation and rolled his eyes.

"I remember being that way once. I almost wish I shot myself then." he sighed and closed his eyes to concentrate. "Let me begin with what we have learned. You may fill in any gaps I have."

"Thirty years ago, Garik Evice's only son, Wesley, left the region of Orre for Kanto to begin his Pokémon journey. His last known stop was here in Neon City, at the time known as Neon Town. He then died due to unknown causes. In the days following his death, the Realgam Tower that was the focal point of the Orre restoration and terra-forming project was torn down and the blueprints redrawn for building last year. In conjunction to the destruction of the project, Garik also ordered his company to begin experiments on DNA restructuring and genetic manipulation. Gathering the DNA samples of Groudon and Kyogre, he strove to create the world's most powerful legendary Pokémon. After failing time and again, a third strand of DNA was added, that of a human. The resulting efforts of combining man and Pokémon, along with manipulating the genes, created the super-legendary Pokémon known as Raykyoudon.

"Raykyoudon was in human form, but not human born. The experimental project to create him was called Project: WSLY, in honor of Wesley Evice. The final result was Seth Evice. However, Seth was not truly complete, needing one final piece of DNA, that of Rayquaza, the Sky Dragon. Once he had all the pieces, he became the Weather's Master. Upon his death in the Indigo Stadium, Seth was recreated and placed at The Beginning. Now here is the question we've tried to answer for the past couple of weeks." Red finished and looked at Anca. "**Where **is The Beginning?"

Anca straightened and turned to her cabinet, opening it and gazing at the photo within. Carefully, she reached in and picked it up, holding it tenderly to her before turning back to the group and placing it down for them to see. The trainers leaned forward and gaped in shock at the photo.

At first glance it looked like a picture of Seth and Rui having a blast at a parade, but the picture was faded, and Seth's eyes were blue. Rui had her hair tied in a single ponytail that and had green eyes, the same green Anca had. This picture, no matter how disturbingly accurate it was to the current couple, was not recent.

"This is what I looked like thirty years ago. The young man beside me is Wesley, before his death. This was taken the night before he died." Anca told them, completely serious in her tone and expression. Rui gasped.

"He looks like Seth!" she cried.

"Project: WSLY was never an attempt to create a super-legendary Pokémon." Anca went on darkly, arms folded over her chest. "It was an attempt by a madman to bring back the dead."

* * *

_Neon Town, June 2, 2140-_

Jirachi and Celebi appeared over a funeral as the rain drizzled down. Anca knelt by the open grave as a black casket descended slowly into it, clutching herself in a hug as she sobbed loudly.

"Nooo! Wesley! Why?! We were going to be married! We were going to be together! Why did that... monster... take you away from me?!" she screamed, tears pouring from her eyes as the rain soaked her hair and clothes. Jirachi pressed his hands to his mouth, eyes tearing up at the sight.

_"Celebi, we saw in the past she had the book. Why are we here?"_ he whispered in sorrow. Celebi sobbed as she held a tiny bead of black in her hands.

_"To punish myself! Time and again, I must punish myself for what I have done."_ she replied between sobs. Evice stood on the other side of the grave, staring with dead eyes as he watched the casket lower itself into the final resting ground. Anca covered her face briefly, then erupted in another shriek of agony as the portly man tossed in the first handful of soil, still in a state of shock and disbelief, sorrow and numbing pain. Sera looked sadly at the grave as the earth was shoveled in to complete Wesley's burial.

_"Celebi, why? What are you talking about?"_ Jirachi pressed as Celebi flew down and held up the black bead of energy. _"What are you doing?!"_

_"Jirachi, remember my wish! If I fail to repair this timeline, erase me from existence!"_ she yelled and hurled the glowing bead at Evice's heart, _"Darkness of all that corrupts the soul! Take this man as my offering! My punishment for my crime must be equal! Distort the balances of nature, Evice! Twist the rules and boundaries of life and creation! Do what you must!"_

Anca watched in horror as the protective man who fathered a kind son suddenly lost the faint shine of a clean aura, eyes taking on a maddened gleam as it turned so black it drained the light from around him. She scooted back, eyes wide as Evice began to laugh insanely.

"No, this will not be true! NO! I will not lose my son to death!" he declared, "My son shall rise again, more powerful than before! I shall instill in those that dared to take my son with the darkness of this wretched day! They will be my army as I take from this world the freedom and life that was taken from my Wesley!"

_"CELEBI?!"_ Jirachi screamed in horror as realization finally dawned on him. The Forest Guardian brought herself into the man's view for a brief moment, then cloaked herself once more.

"Celebi, the legendary Pokémon, you can not stop what has begun!" Evice crowed, "My goals are clear! I will resurrect Wesley and dominate this twisted world! The rain and the wind and the shining sun shall bow to the glory of my son!"

_"By the grace of the Weather's Master, Celebi, **you gave Evice the idea of creating Shadow Pokémon**?!"_ Jirachi shrieked as she grabbed his hand.

_"Yes. And each time I come here, I must do it again. Until I die, this will be my punishment, for a crime I should have known better than to commit."_ she told him and took him into time again, back to the present day and present events, leaving Anca to stare in terror at the raving madman as the world wept the death of the Chosen Master.


	14. At the Beginning, There Is the End

Ch 12

The group looked stunned at the revelation and stood back, waiting in silence as the information sunk into their minds. Anca picked up the photo and sighed as she gazed down at the image of her first love. Red pulled his hand down over his face and closed his eyes.

"Lord, why? What is the **matter **with the world? Did the people learn **nothing **from my sacrifices and trials?" he murmured. Rui bowed her head and stared at the floor.

"It's an omen. It means that Seth and I will never be together." she said in a dead tone, "If I try, it will only lead him to death. Just like at the Indigo Plateau."

"No, it's not like that." Anca told her and pulled out the old bound book from her handbag. "This is Wesley's journal. He gave it to me the day before he died and told me to give it to the people who would come in search of him."

"Us?" Silver asked in confusion, "How did Wesley know about us? Most of us weren't even conceived during his time!"

"He had a dream about it. I've read his journal and in it he talked about the Time Flute his mother passed down to him. It's hidden on a cliff at a place called Mt. Orren. He also composed a small melody that the flute must play to the one who carries his image." Anca went on, holding the book out. "Wesley had a bright spirit, but it was also strange. It seemed as if he was nurturing a second soul." She cocked her head and looked at Red. "In fact, so do you, Red. Only your second soul is fully mature and hidden under that mask. Wesley's was still in a child-like state."

"Oh Lord." Red whispered, paling at the words. Pikachu looked horrified. "Anca, Wesley's second soul is a gift from the Pokémon. It's part of a legend that is passed down among Pokémon all around the world."

"What legend?" May asked, thoroughly confused by what was happening. Brendan rubbed his head as he tried to wrap his mind around the news.

"The legend of the Chosen Master is known among humanity as well as Pokémon, but we call it the legend of the Chosen One in some parts of the world or the One Master. It's basically the legend of a trainer born with the ability to commune with Pokémon on a level far greater than any other. That's the Second Soul. This trainer is called the Chosen Master, destined for his generation to protect Pokémon from those who would use them for evil purposes." Red explained, "Only one Chosen Master is ever born per generation of trainers, and another isn't born until the current one dies."

"So if you have the Second Soul, does that mean that you're...?" May trailed in shock. Red nodded.

"I am the Chosen Master of this current time. I am able to speak the languages of every Pokémon in the world and enhance their strengths through transfer of my own spiritual energy. That's partly why Pikachu here is so powerful for his evolution." he finished.

"Then that means that Wesley was the Chosen Master for his time." Brendan remarked. Anca shook her head.

"No, his Second Soul wasn't mature. If the legends are true, a Chosen Master comes to power only when his Second Soul is fully grown. Wesley never came to power." she corrected, "Because he was killed before he became a Chosen Master, the world was without one for a long time."

"During which Evice began the Shadow Pokémon plan, something that his son would have stopped at the beginning." Brendan muttered and shook his head. "Killed? Who would kill a trainer? Did he have enemies? Was he followed here?"

"I should tell you the whole thing then." Anca sighed, "Wesley showed up thirty years ago yesterday. He had great plans to be a trainer for his mother, who was dead as you know, and to help his father restore Orre."

"Restore it? It wasn't always a desert?" May interrupted.

"It was once a lush forest, but Mt. Orren erupted and we got the desert region of Orre." Anca answered, "We dated that night, and he asked me to marry him during dinner. We were very much in love, since the day we met on the 'Net, I guess. Things carried on, I won't say what, but in the morning he heard the news of a wild Pokémon in the woods near here that was attacking people as they passed through."

"The news articles! Dad's story!" Brendan cried, "The trainer that was attacked and killed by a Pokémon was Wesley?!" Anca nodded.

"Yes, he went out with several other trainers to help capture it and instead, it found him first and killed him." She closed her eyes as she relived that horrid day in her mind. "The news was so horrifying, journeys for children were nearly banned outright. The funeral for Wes was carried out here, and that's when I met his father.

"Garik Evice was a nice man then; he was so heartbroken that Wes was gone. But as Wes was being buried, I saw his aura. It suddenly turned black, as dark as the coffin that carried my Wesley away. He announced that he would bring Wes back and that the world would be conquered by Pokémon carrying shadows as dark as that day and the rain, wind and sun would bow to his reborn son."

"The Shadow Pokémon plan and Project: WSLY were conceived that day." Red realized, "Everything that happened now and last year was directly caused by Wesley's death!"

"But where is The Beginning?!" Rui demanded, "We know that this is the end of Wesley's life and journey, but we don't know where The Beginning is!" Anca opened her eyes and caught her gaze.

"Every Beginning is some other Beginning's End. The End is merely the point where another Beginning is born. Wesley's End became Seth's Beginning." she told her cryptically, "The answer is clear. Seth is at..."

"I think that answer belongs to us." Rezrik remarked coldly as the group of trainers turned and saw the Cipher peons leveling guns at them. "Mrs. Fleur, I presume? I have someone who is very interested in knowing where the young Mr. Evice is hiding."

* * *

Wes sat in irritation in the center of the meadow. After going through his pockets and finding the small jar of zinc oxide, promptly sliding a strip of it across his face for no reason other than it seemed right, he was almost positive that someone was out to get him. He had a PDA that gave his name as Seth, a collection of PokéBalls -though where that name came from who knew-, a silvery visor that made him wish he had his old aviator goggles back, and a necklace with a small chip wrapped in yellow wire. He tapped at the chip and blinked as it suddenly glowed softly, then put it on, tucking it under his shirt. 

"Okay, I'm pretty sure that I'm not supposed to be here, yet I am. I'm also sure I know who I am, but then I'm not him." he muttered and sighed, "This is stupid! I'm Wesley Evice! Not Seth! Who the heck is Seth and why does he look like me?!" Wes drummed his fingers on his leg and looked up as the winds swirled around him. A helicopter passed by, then again, then made a third pass before circling overhead. "What the heck is going on now?" he growled.

Footsteps sounded as he stood up and watched in disinterest as a group of trainers were pushed into the clearing. One elderly woman caught his attention and he shook his head, wondering why she would be of any attention. His confusion grew as the peons entered the scene, guns still leveled on the trainers.

"It's just like the old bat said! There he is!" one of the peons remarked.

"And there's Nascour, late as usual." another grumbled.

"Seth!" a redhead cried and Wes looked at her, his breath catching.

"Anca!" he echoed and ran for the girl. The peons jumped forward, holding him back. "Let go of me! Anca, what's going on?"

"It's me, Rui! Seth!" the girl cried louder. The older woman cried in shock.

"This is the clearing! I remember now! From the news! This is the same clearing where the police found Wesley's body! This is The Beginning! The beginning of the end of peace for Pokémon around the world!" she screamed as the chopper descended. Wes struggled harder as the peons began dragging him towards the helicopter. Nascour leaped out and folded his arms over his chest as he stared at the trainers.

"I have come for the final experiment! Seth Evice, you are to come with us to Orre!" he announced, "The rest of you, stay here and finish off those insolent trainers! Make sure you kill Rui first! I don't want her coming up to ruin the party!"

"Party?! What party?! And who are you?! My name is Wesley Evice and you will not take me anywhere! I'm staying here! No one is killing anyone!" Wes yelled. Nascour studied him closely and blinked.

"Those eyes! It can't be!" he murmured, then cleared his throat. "Mr. Evice, your father has requested your presence at a birthday party being held in your honor at the tower." Maybe if he just went along with this crazy plot a bit longer, he won't lose his own mind. It seemed like things were getting dangerously creepy now.

"The hell I'm going! I'm getting married to Anca!" Wes snapped, "My father will have you fired for treating me like this! Let me go! I can't believe he's gone **this **far to control me!"

"On the contrary, you **will** go and you will be wed to the bride of his choosing." Nascour told him curtly. Wes tried to pull away from the peons as they hauled him into the helicopter. Nascour gave Rui a victory grin before boarding.

"Seth! No! Let him go!" Rui cried as Anca echoed her words.

"Anca! Help me! Get me out of Realgam!" Wes yelled out as the bird lifted away and soared towards Orre. Red growled angrily as he watched it vanish.

_"I've had enough of this! Pikachu, on my mark! Thunderstorm!"_ he declared, "Everyone! Down!" The group dove for the ground as Pikachu leaped up and spun into the air.

_"Pikaaaa-CHU!"_ he yelled, unleashing a storm of lightning bolts on the startled peons before they could fire their weapons. They scattered into the forest in fright, some not so lucky as to escape their fate.

"Geez! What do we do now?! Cipher's got Seth!" May cried as a bloom of green opened in the air, revealing Celebi and Jirachi.

_"What are you guys doing here?"_ Celebi asked in surprise and looked around, panicking, _"Where's Seth?! What's happened?!"_

_"Celebi, Jirachi, Cipher found Seth just as we did and took him to Orre. They think he's Wes. Seth thinks so too."_ Red translated and spoke out quickly. Celebi covered her face with her hands as Jirachi flew back from her in a fury.

_"He is. Seth invoked Wesley and now his soul's trapped in his body. If Evice succeeds in equipping him with the mini-Earth Seal, Wes will remain in this world under his control and Seth will die."_ she told him as he translated for the others.

"How do we stop them? How do we get into the tower?" Brendan pressed. Rui held up the PDA.

"The blueprints! We'll use the floor plans from Seth's backup to sneak inside!" she pointed out. "The Time Flute in Orre can be used to bring Seth's memories back so he'll be himself again!"

"What will that do to Wes?" Anca asked in worry.

_"It will send his soul to heaven, where it should have been to begin with. Not lingering here in pain and sorrow."_ Celebi threw in and wrung her hands. _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I've done!"_

"We don't have time for apologies or blaming." Red growled, looking at Jirachi and Celebi alternately before resuming his gaze towards the humans. "We need to split into two groups. One will infiltrate the tower and rescue Wes. The other will get the Time Flute."

"I'll go to the tower. Seth needs me!" Rui cried. Anca declared herself on Rui's team.

"So will I. They need a good battler." Silver put in, folding her arms over her chest. Red nodded and looked at May and Brendan.

"You two will come with me to get the Time Flute." he ordered.

"But there is no Mt. Orren in Orre!" Brendan protested as May released HeartSong.

"Yes there is." Rui corrected, "Mt. Orren was renamed Mt. Battle a few years ago. Wes wouldn't know of that, so he used the name it went by long ago."

_"You'll never make it to Orre by flight. I'll teleport you to the places you need to go."_ Jirachi offered, _"You'll need to find your own way in, though. That's as far as I can go to help."_

"At this point, we'll take anything." Silver muttered as they were covered in golden light and vanished. The legendaries sighed tiredly and looked at the ruined clearing. Things were moving faster than they thought. Would everything work out in the end?

* * *

Wes glared at Nascour as the helicopter made its way to Realgam Tower as fast as it could fly. The man was talking on a phone, trying to soothe someone and looking fairly frightened at the same time. Wesley rolled his eyes and sighed, then caught sight of Orre outside the window. He straightened in shock and stared out at it. 

"What is this? I thought we were restoring Orre! Where are the machines tilling the land and the irrigation pipes?! And what's become of Realgam Tower?! Why isn't it collecting air moisture?!" he cried, "What has my father been **doing**?!"

"Bringing you back to life, Wesley. Thirty years has passed since you died in Kanto. That time has been spent perfecting a plan to conquer the world with an army of Shadow Pokémon with you at the head, controlling the weather." Nascour told him, hanging up the phone. Wes turned to look at him in confusion. "You're the final piece in the plot, and the plan won't be complete until you marry one of the girls at the party."

"I'm marrying Anca." Wes remarked defiantly, eyes narrowing at him. "And my father won't stop me!"

"Give up on it. She's probably dead in the woods, along with that troublesome Rui Roane girl." Nascour went on and sat back as the bird began to descend outside the tower. The doors slid open and both men recoiled at the sight of a grinning Evice standing just outside.

"Welcome home, Wesley! Happy birthday!" Evice exclaimed, holding out his arms for an embrace. Wes pressed himself as far from the man as possible, eyes wide with horror.

"My God, what has _happened _to you?! Dad! You're...!" he stammered.

"Glad to see you? Yes, I am! Now, come and see all the pretty girls that are here to be your bride!" Evice told him. Wes shook his head as Nascour carefully slipped out of the helicopter and dashed off to take his place as security head. Evice's eyes seemed to glow a bright red and narrow in fury, even as his smile stayed plastered on his face. "Wesley, that is not how a young man of your stature should react to such news." he said in a controlled voice.

"What's happened to you?" Wes repeated softly, fearing this man that claimed to be his father. Evice reached into the bird and grabbed his leg, causing him to yell suddenly as the portly Cipher CEO began to pull him forward. "Dad! Let me go! What are you doing?!"

"We don't have time to cater to your childish whims anymore, Wesley. You are going to get married **today**!" Evice snarled and caught his arm in a painfully tight grip, twisting it to pull him down to eye level, "And **nothing **is going to stop my plans of domination! I will make this world **pay **for daring to take you from me!"

"Dad! That hurts! Let go!" Wes cried, cringing as his arm twisted further. The Cipher head ignored him and pulled out a single Ultra Ball.

"I need to make sure you don't try to run away. This is the beast that took you from me. I paid millions to have it hunted down and brought to me." Evice boasted, "It was the first Pokémon to have its heart sealed and filled with darkness. If you thought it was insane before, wait until you see it now!" With that, he threw the ball forward and allowed the raging Arcanine within it burst into the world, its huge body matted and scarred from abuse and fights long gone by. Wild eyes rolling in its head, it seemed only to focus on Wes, its teeth automatically pulling back in a snarl. Wes froze, paralyzed as he came face to face once more with the creature that stole his life, hand over his neck as his mind called up the memory of its jaws clamped around his throat.

"Father..." he whispered hoarsely and cried as his arm was chained to the Pokémon's collar, bound to it by a length that allowed him to stay far enough to be somewhat safe, but not so that it couldn't easily turn and slaughter him for breathing.

"It obeys only me. So if you don't do as I say, I will end your body's existence and create another for you to inhabit." Evice told him coldly and turned back to the red carpet. "Arcanine! Come! The brides await!"

The huge dog snarled again but walked forward obediently, followed by Wes as he tried to stay in step beside it, face drawn in terror at what was happening. He could feel it, somewhere deep inside, he knew; his father was insane, this creature was unnatural, and he was going to die again.

It was only a matter of who else would suffer with him once he **did **die.


	15. It Starts

Ch 13

Alpha Team-

Rui and her group appeared at the base of the tower moments after the helicopter dropped off Wes and Nascour. Turning to her PDA, she opened the file for the blueprint of the tower and watched the layout bloom onto the screen. Crossing her fingers, she pressed the keys for searching out the tracking chip and watched with the others as they peered at it, waiting to see what would happen.

"Come on. **Work.**" Silver whispered as the lines scanned the screen, searching the tower layout for the chip. Moments passed and Rui held her breath, then cried happily as a single green blip appeared on the map.

"It did it! It found him! The chip is working again!" she exclaimed and zoomed on the map, "It looks like he's... in the sub basement?" She blinked and looked at her friends in confusion. "I don't recall the Realgam Tower having a sub basement."

"There's got to be an entrance to it around here, somewhere." Silver muttered, scratching her head under her hat. "This tower was built with lots of secret rooms and halls. That sub basement must be where that party is; it looks like a pretty big room."

"I remember only what Wesley told me about the tower long ago." Anca sighed and closed her eyes. "He told me that many of the tower's functions required that water be taken into the ground. To that end, all tunnels and moisture collection systems within the Realgam Tower led into the earth. If this tower is built similarly, then the best way to head down would be through those same vents."

"The ventilation system! Anca, you're a genius!" Silver declared as Rui tucked away the PDA, "A room that size full of people needs plenty of air! There must be a vent that leads straight into it!"

"Where can we find the entry then?" Rui asked as the three women dashed for the wall of the tower, darting around statues and fountains of silver and gold to avoid the security. "I doubt it will be so easy to get into the tower." Anca nodded her agreement as Silver ran her hands over the walls of the tower.

"Anything is easy to get into if you know how. Red taught me a lot over the years we've worked together." she remarked and looked back at them with a half-smile. "Red is a mercenary, in case you didn't figure that out. He and Pikachu, and sometimes me, go around the world in search of jobs. His clients usually hire him to take care of bad company or steal some inside information for them. So breaking and entering is as second nature to him as Pokémon battling."

"Not a good job for a young man like him to have." Anca muttered as Silver returned to her searches. "And this Seth boy, he looks much like Wesley did... what is his job?"

"He used to be a Snagger for Team Snagem, a Pokémon thief. One day, he turned on them and then he ran away and saved me and we've been saving Pokémon ever since!" Rui told her with a smile, "When we rescued all the Shadow Pokémon in Orre, we thought it was all over, so Seth made himself kind of disappear. He would only show up when I mailed him that I was going to visit my grandparents. Then he would come with me and stay with us until I went back home to Zirconia City."

"Baha! Got it! And you didn't believe me when I said it would be easy." Silver snickered as she popped open a lightweight panel with grating on it. "My God, you'd think they'd put bolts or something on this. An amateur could break in here!"

"What do you think we are?" Anca remarked haughtily and smiled as she crawled into the vent after Silver, "This is gonna be fun! I've never done this before! Hah! Debs, your mother's a spy!" Rui followed her in and sighed.

"Seth, hang on. We're coming for you. But what are we going to do about Wesley? His spirit is in your body!" she murmured worriedly.

* * *

Wes sat stiffly as dozens of young women were paraded before him, each one accompanied by a relative as they danced to the music playing through the auditorium. The entire scene was set up to resemble classical balls of royal days and Wes couldn't help but wish for death to come sooner. Evice clapped his hands, eyes roaming the room as he sought out a girl that he felt would be 'the one'. Wincing almost submissively each time the Arcanine growled deep in its throat, Wes cast another longing look at the shining hoverbike on the other end of the stage where he sat on a velvet coated chair.

"This time isn't mine, and neither is this body. I shouldn't be here. I can't stay and I can't let my father fulfill his maddened fantasies." he murmured and let his own gaze roam the area, searching for an escape route, a possible distraction for his crazed parent, a weapon to use against the Arcanine holding him prisoner, _anything _to set himself free. Evice turned and walked up to him, holding out a plate of chocolate cake and a single glass of a sparkling liquid.

"Here. You're supposed to be enjoying your party! I've gone through all this trouble to set it up for you and you don't even want to taste your favorite flavor of cake?" the portly man asked.

"Dad, you're insane. Remember? You're nuts, this whole scheme of yours is nuts and I'm supposed to be dead! What the **hell **have you been doing for thirty years, besides trying to resurrect me like a zombie?!" the gray haired man snapped at him.

"Now, now. Mind your manners. Ah! Here's our next lovely applicant!" Evice remarked as a young woman with shining blonde hair walked up to them, violet eyes sparkling. "This is Lianna, daughter of Grace Windsor of the Windsor Corporation in Hoenn. Isn't she simply divine?" he introduced them and began to walk away, "I trust you two will get acquainted in my absence? I have many wedding plans to make!"

"So, you're the famous Wesley Evice? That's an interesting Pokémon. Do you usually keep him on that leash?" Lianna asked sweetly, looking as if she wanted to be somewhere else. Wes sighed irritably and looked away from her.

"Look, I don't want to be here. This thing is chained to me and I need to get out of here before that crazy man who claims he is my father returns." he growled, "So unless you are willing to help me escape, please leave me alone."

"My mother says that you're not the real Wesley. That you're some other guy who looks like him and sounds like him." the young woman went on uncomfortably, eyes searching the room. "And anyway, I don't want to be here either. I have someone back home I like and, no offense, but I don't want to marry you." Wes laughed bitterly and looked back at her with a wry smile.

"Same here. And who I am is complicated. I'm Wes, but at the same time, I'm not. Don't try to figure it out, it's probably what drove... Evice... insane." he answered softly, deciding that he would no longer refer to the man as his father.

"The third link." Lianna suddenly said and Wes turned his gaze back on her in confusion. "It's faulty. My mom's company makes chains and other equipment for prisons and juvenile detention facilities. That chain is one of ours." she added in a soft voice and flicked her hair back, swaying back and forth as if trying to entice him. "She's watching me right now, act like you really like me." Wes glance briefly by her and noted a woman with tight lips and golden hair tied in a bun staring hard at him. He quickly smiled up at Lianna and took her hand in his, a smile that grew wider when the woman looked victorious and turned away to jabber with some other high official.

"Why are you telling me this?" Wes asked suspiciously as the girl curtsied to him.

"Because it's mutually beneficial for us. If you break that third link, you can escape. If you escape, I won't have to marry you." she whispered, "It'll take time and effort, but you can break the chain and get out of here. I'll have to find my own way of going back to Hoenn." She began to drift away to avoid suspicions from the other girls looking for a chance to talk to Wes. "Good luck and nice meeting you, Mystery Man." He waved back to her, then went straight to the link, working at it with his free hand in attempts to snap the chain. Each link was connected to another solidly, save for the one Lianna pointed out. The link there had a small gap in the metalwork and if he could twist it enough, Wes could slip it off and be freed.

"Once I'm loose, I'm going to find out exactly what is going on here and why I'm getting such a strange feeling about all this. There's more to Evice's plans than just me getting married!" he growled.

* * *

Beta Team-

Ignoring the trainers yelling in a fury over their 'cheating', Red, May and Brendan hovered near the cliffs of Mt. Battle on HeartSong's back as the Hoenn Champion read the final entry in the old journal. Teleporting to the mountain had been risky and dangerous, and the fact that the three were sitting on the Latias as they were warped was basically all that kept them from falling towards certain death. Pikachu briefly contemplated asking Red for permission to kill the young man shaking his fist at them from the floating pavilion, then decided it wasn't worth the electrical output.

"Okay, according to Wes's entry, the Time Flute is near the peak of the mountain. Let's circle around up there and see if we can find something that will lead us to it." May remarked and sent the Latias up higher. Red scanned the cliffs and peaks for clues, then blinked and turned to the two trainers with him.

"Who's going to play the Time Flute once we get it?" he asked. Brendan blinked back and turned to stare at May, who only stared back in equal confusion. "Don't tell me neither of you know how to play that instrument." Red went on flatly. The boy smiled at him.

"Hey, thanks! Saves us all some embarrassment then, huh?" he remarked and Pikachu returned to his previous contemplation, this time replacing the Mt. Battle trainer in his mind with the Hoenn one grinning stupidly at them. Red glared at him, then pulled the MasterDex from his pocket.

"If we're lucky, there's some info about it on the Net. Dexter, search Time Flute, images and information." he ordered curtly. The red device immediately set to searching the Internet, connecting through a tiny satellite dish that unfurled from beneath it and aimed for the nearest hotspot. "Continue circling the mountain. Look for anything that doesn't look like it should be there while I keep looking for data."

"Okay, Boss." May muttered under her breath and sighed. "I'm starting to wish I'd gone to Realgam instead. They must be having such cool battles there right now..."

* * *

Alpha Team-

"Fire Wheel!" Silver ordered, defeating the last Pokémon the security peon had. Desperate to flee and save his own hide, the grunt raced from the room and dropped a key in his haste. Rui collected it and turned the card over in her hands. "Ugh, you freaking idiot! Why the hell did you send out a Steel-type Pokémon when you know damn well I always start with Fire?! Don't you watch the televised tournaments, you jerk?!" the champion continued yelling after the retreating peon before turning to Rui and Anca. "So, where next?" she asked brightly.

"This Card Key is for a laboratory stationed somewhere in here." Rui murmured in mild confusion and turned to her map. "The tracking chip is still in that big room. But the layout says that this smaller room two halls down from it is the lab." She closed her eyes and thought hard. "If Seth doesn't remember us, then we'll have to reinstall his backups. The ones Nett has are too old to use. If we used them, he won't know who you are, Silver. He'll think you're an enemy and might attack you."

"So, either way, we still lose Seth." Silver muttered. Rui shook her head.

"Ein had Seth back during the journey. He would have pulled a fresh copy of data from him the moment he got his hands on Seth." she answered, "There's a good chance that the copies are here in Realgam with him. If Nascour is trying to take over the world with him, he's going to need those copies too."

"Why? If Wes is a super-legendary Pokémon like you said he is, then why go through the trouble of getting data about him?" Anca asked. Rui pocketed the key and glanced at her.

"It's the data in his mind he's after. Seth not only is a Pokémon but he's the most advanced data storage unit ever created. Seven years of his life doesn't exist because his memories of that time were overwritten with the entire database of information and research Cipher had collected. And every day of his life, every thought and emotion he has are saved as memories, also able to be downloaded and looked at by special computers." she replied, "So he can also get information from them the same way we get it out of his head. Nett has that same computer at his house; he built it from plans stored in the old backup. If we can get the new copy of Seth's memories, we can restore the true Seth."

"Right, so let's go! To the lab!" Silver announced and dashed out of the room with the two redheads following behind.

* * *

Wes looked around briefly, then slipped his hand free from the chain, rubbing his wrist gingerly with a smile of relief. With girls passing by constantly, complimenting him, flirting, teasing, doing everything in their power to win him over, he found plenty of cover for his escape, forcing smiles and faking compliments of his own as he fidgeted with the link. He gave the party a final disgusted look before getting to his feet and quietly slipping back from the huge Arcanine sitting put on the stage. Its ears barely flicked and he paused, fear creeping though his body. When it didn't move, Wes forced himself to keep moving. Reaching the door, he slipped through it and finally began to run, dashing down the hall faster than he thought he could move.

"Wh-what have they done? What has Evice done to bring me back like this? Why am I dressed this way? How can I move like this, as if I could all my life?" he whispered to himself as he turned the corner and kept running. He kept one hand out to keep track of his path. This part of Realgam was new and unfamiliar to him. If he could keep following a single wall, he would eventually find an exit, right?

Wes moved on until he heard voices and footsteps coming up towards him. He stopped abruptly and looked around for a place to hide. No doors, no columns, not even a stupid potted plant. He was completely in the open. Cringing as the voices and steps grew louder and closer, Wes moved into a fighting position, the change in posture so fluid and perfect he briefly wondered if it was something the former inhabitant of his body had trained constantly to do.

"...And if we can just get the data back, we can get Seth back too!" a girl remarked brightly.

"I'm surprised there aren't more grunts around. I suppose all the security is in guarding the auditorium." another's added in a bored tone. The girls turned the corner and stopped as the elderly woman bumped into them from behind.

"Why did we... oh." she murmured in quiet surprise as Wes stared at them in confusion.

"Anca? How did you get here so fast?" he asked Rui. She shook her head and looked tearful.

"I'm not Anca. I'm Rui Roane." she corrected, "Seth... Wesley, right? I'm sorry, but thirty years have gone by since you died." Wes straightened and looked down at the floor, letting that information sink into him and finally register it as undeniable truth. The older woman stepped forward and reached her hand out to him, trembling but never touching him.

"Wes, it's me. _I'm_ Anca. Oh, Wesley, it's been so long and you look just like you did so many years ago, before that horrible day." she murmured, "Is it really you?" Wes shut his eyes and nodded slowly, trying to hold back tears as Anca sobbed once in joy. "Wes! You're back!"

"I'm not supposed to be here." he said quietly, "I don't know anything anymore. Who is Seth? Who did Evice murder to bring me to life?"

"Evice? He's free?" Rui asked fearfully. Wes looked up and stared at her in confusion, then shifted to understanding.

"You've... faced him before, haven't you? You've met him like this?" he inquired. Rui nodded. "With Seth, right? Can you tell me who he is? I want to know who it is that I may have killed coming back to life."

"On the way to the lab, people! We don't have time to stand around here and chat!" Silver declared, "It's not going to be long before security finds us here and if they get us before we can get those backups, Seth and all of us are gonna be dead for sure!" She grabbed the young man by the arm and motioned to Rui. "Lead the way!"

"Okay!" the redhead answered and ran off, following the map as the others dashed after her, "I'll tell you the whole thing as we go, Wes! Please trust me when I say that Seth isn't dead! Not in the way you think!"

* * *

Beta Team-

Red flicked through the pages of data and sighed. The Time Flute was different from normal musical instruments, the knowledge on how to play it was almost nonexistent as it seemed to be a closely guarded secret by those who knew how to create them. He looked over at the cliffside again and glared at a red and white box perched conspicuously on the rocks.

"Is that it?" he demanded as the Latias floated to it. May shrugged and reached out a leg to kick at it.

"Could be. Any leads on the fingering for it?" she asked as HeartSong used her psychic abilities to lift the box and take it to her trainer. Red shook his head.

"Aw, man, you mean to say that Seth's the only one who can play this thing?" Brendan complained. May opened the box and lifted out the flute, marveling at the shimmering effect of the glass-like metal and the mysterious coil at the end of the instrument.

"I'm not saying that. Just that Seth is the only one _we_ know who can play it. If there's a way to find someone else who can play the flute, then the problem's solved." Red answered.

"Well, we have it now, and the journal with the music that has to be played with it, so let's haul tail for Realgam Tower!" May declared and packed the flute back into the protective box, "Red, where's the tower?" The older man checked his MasterDex and pointed south. "HeartSong! Go south!" The Latias nodded and swerved, pigtails ruffling as she sped for the southern area of Orre. "Let's hope there's still some action left for us when we get there!"

* * *

Alarms ringing as group reached the lab nearly startled them to death as Wes swore softly under his breath. Rui threw open the door and ushered them all in, shutting it tightly behind them once they were safe inside.

"Evice must have noticed I went missing. He must be furious, too." Wes muttered and looked sadly at Anca, "I'm sorry for everything, Anca. The way things are, maybe I should have stayed in Neon Town with you that day, so long ago." Rui rushed to the computer console and searched around, finally locating the new hard drives that contained the most recent backup of Seth's memories.

"Don't say that, Wes. You would still have gone anyway. That's just who and what you are. Things happen. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but it is never the fault of the people involved." Anca told him firmly and looked over at Silver, who stood before the door with her Typhlosion standing by her.

"I'll keep watch. Rui, do whatever you need to do and fast!" she exclaimed. The redhead slid the drives into her pack and studied the monitor. She made a gasp of surprise and pointed at it.

"The second Earth Seal is stored somewhere in here! We've got to destroy it and all this information here! We can't let Cipher get this data back!" she exclaimed. Wes ran up and scanned the information quickly.

"You find the device and destroy it. Let me handle the data. I remember how Cipher set up the database. It should still be the same." he told her and put his hands on the keyboard, typing quickly. Rui nodded and jogged to Anca, pulling her along to help.

"The new Earth Seal looks like an armor of some kind. The schematics on the screen said it looked kinda like this." she told her, pointing at the Snag Machine on her arm. Anca nodded and the two split up to search the room.

"That alarm is getting annoying." Silver grumbled at last and Wes looked up at the flashing lights and the sirens before returning to the computer and typing in another set of commands. The alarm shut off. "Hey, thanks." Silver remarked with a grin, looking back at him, "What are you doing, anyway?"

"I'm purging the database of all information. There. Done." he answered with a grim smile, " I just sent a couple of gifts out that will cripple Cipher for good."

"Found it!" Anca cried as she pounded on the glass case protecting a suit of body armor covered in exposed circuitry and wires. Rui tossed out the Blaziken with a yell.

"Blaziken! Sky Uppercut! Destroy that armor!" she called out and shielded herself as the fighting bird slammed its fist into the case, then proceeded to cheerfully pummel the second Earth Seal. The alarm went off again as Blaziken pulled the armor free and went on ripping the circuits apart. Silver made a face.

"How many alarms does this place have?" she grumbled. Wes rejoined them and looked around.

"Quite a lot. Where to next, Rui?" he asked in concern. Rui closed her eyes and thought hard.

"We have to escape this place and get back to Nett. There we can reload the back up and..." she trailed off as she looked over at Wes again and found him pale, "Wes?"

"It's here." he whispered and stared at the door in terror, "It's found me!" The group jumped and cried in shock as the door to the lab suddenly was slammed by a huge weight. Wes leaped back and raised his arms to cover his head and face. "Don't let it near me!" he screamed.

"What is that?!" Silver cried as the Typhlosion took on a wary battle stance.

"The Arcanine!" Wes shrieked, "The one that killed me thirty years ago! Evice did something to it to make it even more insane!" Rui's eyes widened in realization as the creature continued slamming the door.

"A Shadow Arcanine!" she whispered in horror and looked at her arm, the Snag Machine gleaming in the light of the alarms. "What now? I... I don't know how to use this for snagging!"

"We need a plan, people! And we need it fast!" Silver yelled as Anca squealed in fear, shoving furniture against the door and jumping back at each mad roar from the other side.

"I don't know what to do! I never thought I'd have to face _this_ just to get Seth back!" Rui wailed back. The two other women backed away quickly as the door suddenly began to grow red and hot.

"That's too bad, because that Arcanine wants in here in a **real **bad way!" the Johto Champion yelled in answer, tossing out the Gyarados to counter the flames with water.

* * *

HeartSong descended not far from the tall tower and unloaded her passengers. May returned the dragon to its ball and watched Red send Pikachu out to scout. Brendan looked up at the tower, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"God, that's huge." he muttered as Red checked the MasterDex.

"Security's not so bad. Something must have tripped it up already." he remarked after a quick hack into the surveillance system revealed scattered peons and smiled as Pikachu raced back to him and confirmed the panicked guards. "Silver must have done her work." He led the way towards the tower, the two trainers following closely behind. _"Pikachu, did you find an entry point?!"_

_"Yeah! Follow me! There's a ventilation duct with Silver's scent on it! The girls must have used that to get in!"_ the mouse answered and turned towards it. Within a few minutes, Red was crawling through the space quickly with the Hoenn trainers, following Pikachu's tracking sense.

They emerged among a group of panicked grunts and momentarily prepared themselves for a fight. However, the screams of terror and alarms were so overwhelming to the peons that none of them bothered to stop and recognize them. May raised an eyebrow, then winced as a crazed roar sounded not far from them.

"What was that?!" she exclaimed, head twisted back and forth in search of the source of the roar. Red cocked his head and listened, frowning.

"That's an Arcanine. It sounds very wrong, though." he muttered and watched Pikachu sniff around again. The mouse squeaked and raced off, followed quickly by the trainers. "Hurry! I don't like how this is turning out!"

* * *

Rui bit her lip as Wes paced anxiously, staring at the door as if unsure exactly when the object of his terror would burst through and devour him.

"I can't keep this up forever, guys! Somebody think of something!" Silver yelled as the water attacks went on. Rui slipped an arm around Wes's own and hugged him in reassurance. Anca watched them, heart aching to do the same for the young man. Her time had passed on; Rui was trying to comfort both the boy that didn't belong, and the lost man she loved dearly.

"If I tell you about Seth, do you think you can calm down a little?" Rui whispered. The young man shrugged nervously, eyes darting back and forth from the door to Anca. "It started before I met him in Phenac, but I can only start from there." As the desperate efforts to keep the Arcanine at bay and the destructive force of the Blaziken worked on the remnants of the Earth Seal 2 went on, the redhead recounted the many adventures she had with the Snagger, highlighting parts that portrayed the aspects she loved most about him. Wes began to relax, listening as the life and personality of the person he was inhabiting was described to him.

"If I had heard this when I still lived, I would have thought the whole thing to be an insane dream." he murmured, "I wish I could meet Seth, face to face. He sounds like the perfect person to resume my dream in my stead; the one who can truly rebuild Orre and make it the paradise I wished it could be for Pokémon and people alike."

The door and the furniture barricade suddenly caught fire and Silver called back the Water-Flying Gyarados and her Typhlosion, searching for a different Pokémon to use. Anca screamed in fright as the barrier began to be shoved aside.

"It's getting in! Hurry! Can't anyone make it leave us be?!" she screamed.

_"Pikachu!"_ a voice screamed back and the Arcanine raged loudly, feet stomping away from the door at a fast clip.

"That was Red and Pikachu!" Silver realized and grabbed a fire extinguisher, putting out the remaining flames that blocked their path, "Come on! We have to go help him!" The group scrambled to clear away the debris as the Blaziken finished the wreckage off and was recalled by Rui. Slamming open the door, Silver scanned the halls and yelled as she saw the tail end of the Arcanine disappear down the corridor. "There it goes!" The group gave chase as Silver dashed after it, threatening certain doom if the Pokémon dared to harm her fiancé.

_"Wesley, you've been a very bad boy. I throw this wonderful party for you and you repay me by running away again!"_ Evice's voice scolded from the intercom. Wes gazed upward at one speaker, a frown on his face. _"Don't give me that look. I've sent Nascour to get you, but I suppose I must do things myself. Stay right where you are until I arrive, or that wretched redhead's friends will die."_

"Evice, I am not yours to control! I never was!" Wes yelled, "I died before my time, that is true, but it is no reason to distort all of nature just for your selfish purposes!" He shook his head and turned to his friends. "Let's get out of here. I want to be as far from that crazed Pokémon as possible."

"I have to snag it." Rui corrected softly. The group stared at her. "Seth wouldn't leave a Shadow Pokémon like that, not even one as twisted as that Arcanine." she went on firmly, "I have to snag it and hope that Seth and I are strong enough to open its heart and heal its mind."

The Arcanine led them out of the confined spaces of the halls into a large room, where it immediately halted and breathed out an intense Flamethrower that seared the room and forced the trainers it had been chasing to throw themselves to the floor. Silver screamed as she saw Red dive for the tile and curl up protectively, May and Brendan sprawled on the floor with cries of pain as they came inches from being set aflame. Rui pulled out the PokéBalls with the female Eons within and set her face.

"Here goes. Seth, give me strength." she whispered and hurled them out, "Neptune! Saturn! Let's go!" Wes stared at her in horror, then swallowed hard as he stepped forward.

"I'll help, too. It's really after me, so I should be able to keep it distracted for you." he told her shakily. Rui nodded at him and took a deep breath before yelling out to get the crazed dog's attention.

"Arcanine! For all the horrors you've put everyone through, I'll do my best to restore your true self!" she cried and threw out the Blackglasses and Twisted Spoon. "Neptune! Light Screen! Saturn! Confuse Ray! Let's battle!" Rui gave her first commands, this time relying only on her own strength and the hope that Seth, somewhere, would help her in his own way.


	16. Celebi's Punishment

Ch 14

Jirachi watched in silent anger as Celebi flitted towards the forgotten chess table in Evice's study. The portly man and Nascour had left only moments ago, making their way speedily to where Rui, Wes, and their friends faced off against the Shadow Arcanine. The gold and silver pieces still stood in preparation for the final move, both the gold knight and bishop (Evice and Nascour, respectively) were closing in on the silver king. Celebi stood on the table top, gazing down at the game.

_"Why?"_ Jirachi hissed softly, _"Why did you show Evice how to create Shadow Pokémon? Why did you unleash something so cruel to us on the world?"_ Celebi glanced back at him slowly, then returned her gaze to the pieces on the board. Carefully, she reached out to the set.

_"It is written in the stone of life that a Pokémon has its place and the humans have theirs. One is master of the elements, the other, master of their fates."_ she murmured and picked up the golden figurine of Wesley, _"The two shall only ever unite for a greater purpose; to protect and serve in the interests of Nature. To do anything else is to disobey Nature's Law. Punishment equal to the crime will be inflicted upon the criminal."_

_"What do you think your punishment will be when Nature realizes that you caused the Shadow Pokémon Plan to exist?"_ Jirachi asked coldly as he floated in the air. Celebi clutched the figurine to her body and turned slowly to face the WishMaker, tears running down her face.

_"Jirachi, this is my punishment."_ she told him, _"My punishment is to make a human inflict pain and misery upon Pokémon and human alike, because that is what I did when I broke Nature's most sacred rule and committed a forbidden act."_

_"Celebi, **what did you do**?"_ Jirachi demanded in a harsh tone, brimming with a barely kept fury. Celebi bowed her head and stroked the gold chess piece with the back of her tiny hand as she held it carefully in her arms.

_"I killed the Chosen Master of the previous age."_ she whispered, _"I inflicted pain and misery upon humans and Pokémon... because I dared to fall in love with a human."

* * *

_

The Arcanine roared as the effects of the Confuse Ray kicked in. Neptune focused her energy and surrounded herself and her Umbreon sister with the protective Light Screen. Wesley Evice, long dead son of Garik Evice the head of Cipher, dashed into the fray and slid across the floor, raising a leg in a sliding kick that toppled the Fire-type before he scrambled out of the way. Rui called out another set of attacks for her twin Eons as Silver raced past them all to reach Red. The mercenary's Pikachu was standing guard over him, daring the crazed Arcanine blasting Flamethrower at random to try aiming his way.

"Red! Wake up!" Silver cried, shaking the man with all her strength. He groaned softly and sat up, shaking his head clear of fog.

"Silver, what's the situation?" he whispered brokenly, looking up at her with a weary expression. The Johto Champion glared at him.

"Look at you! You nearly died and you're worrying about what's going on around you?! Gah! Fine, Rui and Wes are engaging the target; Evice and Nascour are making their way here and we've destroyed their data backups and the Earth Seal Armor. We also have the new copies of Seth's memory to return to his body." she told him quickly, "Now get moving!"

Wes leaped aside a stray blast of fire with a cry of alarm. That was far too close for his comfort! Between shooting flames around and bashing its head against the wall, the Shadow Arcanine was doing a good job of destroying the room and weakening itself at the same time. Only, how were they to escape Realgam if this monstrosity caused a collapse right on them?

"Saturn! Faint Attack! Lure it in! Neptune! Helping Hand! Power up your sister!" Rui called out as Anca stayed far out of the way and the Hoenn trainers searched their PokéDexes for information on how to deal with such a large and powerful Pokémon. The little redhead closed her eyes briefly, calling out to Seth with her heart for help then returning to reality with new orders and new strategies. Each tactic was faintly reminiscent of Seth's battling techniques. Could the Snagger be whispering a battle plan to Rui from beyond?

The Arcanine shook off its confusion and immediately went into a defensive tactic, madness driving it to preserve its strength for a killing blow. Double Team, continuous after-images of the giant dog filled the room as the trainers and Anca raced to get out of range of its claws and teeth, unsure which image was the true Pokémon. Neptune gathered her energy and transferred it to her sister, a silver glow overlaying the faint gold of the Light Screen surrounding her black body. Saturn swayed and flopped aside, as if suddenly too weak to stand.

_"C'mon, you black-hearted bastard! Attack me!"_ Saturn murmured softly, then saw one of the images snarl in anticipation. She leaped up suddenly and unleashed the combined energy of her own element and her sister's on the Arcanine, the blast knocking it backwards and destroying the dozens of fakes. Rui cheered, then screamed as the Pokémon scrambled up and stampeded for Wes.

"Get away!" Wes yelled, racing aside as fast as he could go, the beast gaining on him quickly, "Someone! Help! It's going to kill me!"

"Wesley! Hang on! Don't leave me again!" Anca cried out, hands clutching the front of her shirt, trying to keep her heart from failing. Pikachu hurled out a blast of electricity, missing as the dog leaped over the blast and ran on. May and Brendan scrabbled for their Poké Balls, searching for the best one to use on the Arcanine. Wesley ducked blasts of fire, darting around tables and equipment as he tried to escape. Gasping for air, he pushed on while the Pokémon chasing him merely cleared away the obstacles with brute strength and fearsome flames. Rui's voice failed her as she watched Wes head for the exiting elevator and the Arcanine halted. It lifted its massive paws, then slammed them down as it opened its mouth to belch out the most powerful fire technique known to Pokémon, Fire Blast.

"Noooo!" Anca wailed as the star-shaped plume rushed to meet its victim.

* * *

_"You did **what?!**"_ Jirachi roared out as best as his tiny body could. Celebi only hugged the chess piece closer to her, _"Celebi! That's insanity! What made you think that a human could ever return a Pokémon's love?! There's a reason why Nature says a Pokémon can NEVER love a human like that!"_

_"Pokémon and humans are far too different, but the emotions are the same. We both can cry, laugh, fear, hurt... why is love forbidden?"_ Celebi murmured, _"I know what the laws say, but I thought that my love could be returned. After all, Wesley was to be the Chosen Master. In time, he would learn to understand me... maybe learn to love me too."_ She shut her eyes as she remembered the tragic night, tears renewing their paths down her face. _"I saw him in the forest that night, and I fell in love with his soul at first glance. Despite knowing that I couldn't act on it, as the laws say, I thought I could be the exception. He was the Chosen Master!"_

_"I lured him away from the other trainers, to a clearing where I would reveal myself to him and call him away with me. But when I showed myself, entranced him with the vision of a rare Pokémon, that was when the Arcanine struck. Before my very eyes, before I could even act to save him, Wesley was killed. And Nature screamed in pain and outrage."_ Celebi finished and lifted her gaze to the WishMaker, _"So, you see? I distorted nature by loving a human and causing his demise, the death of the Chosen Master and the end of Orre's dream of prosperity and salvation. My punishment is to distort nature further, by forcing Evice to create a new Wesley, to create Seth and Raykyoudon, so Orre's destiny is fulfilled and a Pokémon can truly love a human... as an equal."_ She looked away. _"There lies my true punishment, to see the one I loved love another and be lost to me forever."_

_"Celebi, Forest Guardian..."_ Jirachi whispered in a trembling voice, _"You have told me the origin of this chaos and as such I will grant your wish. If Rui fails to rescue Seth, if Seth fails to love Rui as an equal, if Raykyoudon fails to restore Orre, I will destroy your existence within the strands of time and space."_ His eyes met hers, void of any emotion, _"And Nature's law will stand true. No Pokémon can ever love a human."

* * *

_

"Wes!" Rui finally screamed, "Seth is a Pokémon! Use his powers! Raykyoudon! Water Pulse!" The others stared at her in disbelief, then turned to see what would happen next.

Wes's head seemed to jerk up, then, as time slowed to a crawl, the young man spun on one heel, bringing his arms up as a soft blue glow surrounded his body. Blue eyes dark and unseeing, he thrust his hands forward, palms facing the incoming attack. A wave of shimmering blue energy pulsed ahead of him, slamming into the Fire Blast and forcing it back to the Arcanine as it writhed and howled in pain and fury.

"Snag it now, Rui!" Red bellowed and the redhead grabbed for an Ultra Ball in her pocket. She held it tightly in her snagging arm, mumbled a quick prayer for it to work, then spun on one foot in a feminine variation of Seth's Snagger spin.

"Snag Ball! Go!" she cried and hurled it after the Arcanine as the doors behind her slid open.

"What are you doing?!" Evice raged as the device opened and a hand-like net of energy grabbed the Pokémon and drew it in. Nascour's mouth dropped open in shock as the ball shook furiously, then stilled in perfect capture, the image of an 'M' flashing on it briefly, then fading.

"I did it! I snagged the Shadow Arcanine!" Rui cried in joy, running up to scoop up the ball. The ground shook suddenly and the friends looked at each other. "Um, what was that?" Rui asked in confusion. Evice grabbed a second Poké Ball from Nascour's belt and threw it into the room.

"You will not leave here alive! I will have my son **and my** **revenge**!" he roared out, the scream of a Shadow Steelix echoing his fury as it filled the room with its massive bulk. Wes dropped to his knees and held himself tightly, gasping for air as sweat drenched his hair and body.

"I can't... What was that?" he gasped. The other trainers hurried to his side, backing towards the exit as the intercom came to life once more.

_"Master Evice! The guests at the party are evacuating the premises! Please clear the building! The sub basement floors are about to collapse from severe structural damage!"_ Rezrik's voice called out in a panic, _"Repeat! All guests and staff are to evacuate the sub basement floors of the Realgam Tower! Heavy-!"_ The transmission was lost in static as the ground rumbled below the battlers' feet once more. Neptune and Saturn stepped forward, growling at the Steelix that threatened them. Rui stared up at it in horror.

"Another one!" she whispered.

_"Give us commands!"_ Saturn demanded hoarsely.

_"Hurry! Before it kills us all!"_ Neptune added harshly. Red translated the words as Wes staggered to his feet. Rui shook her head slowly.

"I can't! Seth wouldn't allow his Pokémon to battle in a tired state, so neither will I! Neptune! Saturn! Fall back!" she exclaimed and called the twins back into their Poké Balls.

"My Typhlosion is too exhausted from battling Arcanine's blaze! It can't beat this!" Silver cried, "My team isn't prepped for a Shadow Steelix!"

"I can't use Blaziken! He's too tired! My other Pokémon will weaken this room further!" May added fearfully. Wes straightened and glared first at his father, then at the Pokémon.

"Rui! What else can Seth do as a Pokémon?!" he called out, "What other attacks does he have?!" Rui whirled around in shock as, despite the cries of horror from the others, Wes dashed forward, running right at the Steelix in a determined charge attack.

"Earthquake!" the redhead managed to cry. Wesley leaped up, flipped forward, then held his legs together as he slammed his feet into the floor, sending cracks and a massive shockwave rippling into the earth. Ground torn asunder as the Steelix flailed under the assault, the room began to shake violently, the ceiling falling as Evice and Nascour struggled to stay upright.

"Snag Ball! Again!" Rui yelled, hurling out a new ball to capture the Steelix. The group raced for the elevator as Wes grabbed the newly snagged Pokémon and Rui's hand, running after the other trainers.

"We have to escape ourselves, sir!" Nascour yelled and pulled on Evice's sleeve, "If we run back down this hall, we'll reach the emergency exit! That room is going to cave in!"

"I will not lose my son again!" Evice shrieked and plunged into the collapsing storeroom, disappearing from view. Nascour watched in horror, then fled from the rapidly deteriorating sector.

* * *

_"It is nearly done."_ Jirachi whispered. Celebi nodded, body glowing with power as she made a quick rescue job. 

_"The final sacrifices."_ she murmured, _"Let's go."_ The two of them disappeared in bursts of light, leaving the gold and silver chess game to be buried in rubble as the sub basement floors collapsed and crushed the pieces.


	17. Goodbye Wes, Welcome Home Seth

Okay, this ends the saga for now, I still am toying with a slight romance story to wrap it up, premise 'Seth and Rui's wedding', but I don't know if I'll actually do it. Until Colosseum's sequel, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, comes out, I won't really be able to do much for the next set of fics. I'm a visual learner, everything I see and experience influences my writing, so if I don't see the game's storyline firsthand, I can't write a good story for it. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and my husband is the one who helps me with the stories by beta-reading, criticising and pointing out possible plotholes I may have accidentally left behind before every upload. Without him, my writing style would be far lower quality than you have come to expect from me. This ending was a combination of my husband's idea and my own, a fitting end for Cipher and Evice's quest to recover Wesley. Thank you all once again.

* * *

Epilogue

Standing just outside Phenac City, the heroes gathered to finish their quest. Anca held the Time Flute in her hands as the journal with the music lay open before her. Wes said his hellos, thanks and goodbyes to the other trainers, but now stood before his former love in silent sorrow.

"I wish I could stay and be with you, Anca, but I know that my time has passed on and that I must leave this world again." he murmured. Anca fought back her tears. It had been fitting that she would play the flute, she knew the fingering and she wanted to set her first love free.

"Wait for me on the other side, Wesley. We'll be reunited then." she whispered as he stepped back with a farewell smile.

"Rui?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"When Seth is returned to you, tell him that I'm proud to know that he is the one to carry my image and my dream, and that I apologize for any misery my family has caused him and you." Wes told her softly, then smiled sadly, "And that I hope he will bring you the same joy Anca brought me, and never leave your side. Promise me that you will ensure Seth doesn't die and leave you alone, as I have done to my dear Anca." Rui nodded tearfully.

"I will. I'll miss you, and I'm sure Seth would too, if he had met you." she replied. Wes smiled wider, nodded to each of the other trainers and took a deep breath.

"Okay, Anca. I'm ready." he said and closed his eyes as Anca lifted the flute to her lips and began to play. Rui spoke gently.

_"Fallen spirit, long since gone. Find your peace within this song. Leave this form that you have taken. Rest at last, no longer forsaken."_ she recited as the music seemed to swirl around Wes's body. A shimmer of white lifted from him, shaped like a young man as it reached out a final time to Anca, then disappeared like fading mist. "Goodbye, Wesley Evice."

With a sigh, the body that once housed Wesley's soul, that should contain Seth's memory, and held a sleeping Raykyoudon, slowly sank to its knees and toppled to the sand. Rui rushed forward and picked Seth up, hugging him tightly as she listened for a heartbeat. Red stepped forward and checked for a pulse.

"It's weak, but there. Without a set of instructions for the body, Seth can't wake up. We need to reinstall his memories and his personality." he remarked and stood. "Let's get to Pyrite." He and May called out their flying Pokémon and they climbed on, Rui continuing to hug Seth as they headed for the mine shaft that would lead them to The Under.

* * *

In a matter of minutes after arrival, Nett had Seth hooked up to his computer and the new hard drives installed and ready for upload. The group could only stand by and wait and hope as the data flow began. Nett sighed and turned to Rui. 

"I'm glad you found him and his new backups. Let's hope that all the battling you did hasn't compromised the data. If anything is corrupted, Seth may never come back to us." he whispered and sat back to watch his monitor.

Human and Pokémon alike paced in tension as the hours passed. Anca hugged the journal and slept in a seat against the wall, dried tears staining her face. Rui rolled the two new Poké Balls in her hand, wondering if Seth could manage to purify the insane Arcanine. May and Brendan played cards, Silver tended to Red's burns as Pikachu scolded him, and the twin Eons Jupiter and Pluto stood watch over Seth's silent form, waiting for their master and comrade to awaken.

A pair of lights flashed into view, startling the group as Celebi and Jirachi entered the house. The Forest Guardian held out her hands to Rui as Jirachi spoke. Red translated as quickly as he could.

_"The events set in motion are drawing to a close and soon all will be calm once more. The final victims in this tragic circle must find their own peace. Give us the Arcanine."_ Jirachi told Rui. The redhead blinked in confusion, but held out the ball and placed it in Celebi's hands. The Grass-Psychic bowed to her and turned to hold it up to the WishMaker. _"I am Jirachi, the WishMaker. You who took the life of a human and the Chosen Master, what is your wish that you desire granted?"_ The Ultra Ball glowed a vile black and the sound of an agonized howl seemed to emanate from deep within it. Jirachi nodded and held out his own tiny hand, laying his fingertips on the surface of the device._ "Your wish will be granted. Rest in peace and leave this world. Doom Desire!"_

The ball shook as tiny needles of steel materialized and pierced into the shell, then, as the trainers watched in shock, the Ultra Ball turned gray and slowly crumbled into dust, vanishing into nothingness as it slipped through Celebi's fingers.

"You killed it." Rui whispered in horror.

_"I granted his wish for an end to his madness. That was the only way to purify him."_ Jirachi answered, _"My job here is done, now will you all let me sleep?!"_ With those final irritated words, the tiny yellow Pokémon vanished from sight. Celebi sighed and gazed over at Seth.

_"The backups you are uploading are missing memories still. This is my final gift. Rui, take care of Seth for me. I don't think I'll be able to see you two again. And, I'm sorry for all I have caused."_ she murmured as she held out her hand and a tiny bead of green energy floated down to disappear into Seth's forehead. Then, she too was gone.

"What was that all about?" Brendan finally managed and jumped when Seth uttered a soft groan. Rui cried out and rushed over, helping the Snagger sit up as Jupiter and Pluto yipped joyfully.

"Rui?" Seth murmured in soft confusion, opening his eyes and focusing them on her face first, "Have I been gone for very long?" Rui sobbed happily as she hugged him fiercely, the memories of her loneliness during the weeks she searched for him fading like forgotten pain.

"Not long, Seth. I'm so glad to have you back." she whispered as Red motioned for the others to leave them alone. Seth smiled at her almost smugly.

"I told you I would come back to you." he replied and blinked as he finally realized what she was wearing, "Rui? Why are you dressed like me? And wearing my Snag Machine?" The redhead jumped back and posed for him, laughing in relief.

"Oh this? I thought I'd look more serious to Evice and Nascour if I dressed up like this. I snagged a Pokémon, Seth! Aren't you proud?" she exclaimed. Seth jumped from the table where he had lain for hours on end and walked up to her, drawing her into a hug.

"Whether you're my sweet innocent Rui or my heroic Snagger Rui, I will always be proud of you. And I will always love you." he told her before silencing everything else she might have said with a kiss.

* * *

"Here." Anca said, thrusting the aged journal into Seth's hands. It was early afternoon the following day as a small plane prepared to take Anca from Pyrite to Neon City. Red sat in the pilot's seat with Silver, waiting patiently with Pikachu on his shoulder. Seth blinked at the book, then looked up at Anca in confusion. "If you're going to fulfill Wes's dream for him, then you should learn about his life." Anca told him and smiled, "And I won't take it back no matter what you say! It's time for me to let go of my pain. I know I will see my love again." With that, she turned and boarded the small plane. Rui smiled and waved as the little jet lifted off and headed for Kanto. 

"Good to see you two reunited!" Brendan called out as he and May rode on HeartSong's back, preparing to return to Hoenn, "Now stay that way! I can't drop everything to hunt you down around the world, Seth!"

"Take care of your man, Rui! He's a keeper!" May teased and laughed as the dragon squealed happily and flew off.

"I didn't even... What did she...? Who was...?" Seth stammered, completely lost as Rui giggled, her new Eons Neptune and Saturn snickering beside her as Seth's own twins looked at each other in confusion. The Snagger looked at her and blinked again. "Rui, can you tell me what happened since the Indigo Plateau?" he asked, "I think I've been left out of some cosmic joke." Rui smiled wider and hooked her arm around his own, glad to have the Snag Machine on his body where it belonged.

"I'll tell you all about it over lunch!" she remarked, "I made us a picnic lunch to eat, so let's go to Agate and enjoy it!" She motioned towards Seth's hover-speeder ahead. "Red found and brought it back this morning when he called for his personal jet. So everything is the way it should be now!"

"And when did I get a Caterpie? Why is it so mad at me? I think I'll need to be drunk for this." Seth sighed, then smiled teasingly as they climbed aboard the hover-speeder and zipped towards Agate Village.

* * *

It was late that night. Seth slept peacefully in the guest room at Eagun and Beluh's house, Rui was just as happy in her own room. No one in the village noticed a portly man with wild gray hair walking towards the Relic Forest, breathing hard as he staggered onwards. 

Drawn by a voice only he could hear, Evice forced his battered, broken body to the Relic Stone and stood before it. The collapse of Realgam's sub levels had crushed him, but a miraculous green light saved him, dropping him not far from this lush oasis in the Orre desert. A voice called to him to come to the forest and he obeyed. Now he stood here, waiting.

_"Father. Thank you for coming here."_ Wesley's voice whispered as the shining form of his spirit appeared over the stone. Evice gazed up at him, his face drawn and haggard, eyes filled with grief and pain, the madness implanted by Celebi washed away by the power of the Relic Stone.

"Wesley... my son..." he whispered in return. Wes smiled gently at him.

_"Don't worry about all that you've done in your madness. I understand everything now. You have played your role in restoring Orre's hero and its dream. We can be together again now, Father."_ he murmured and held out his hands, _"Let's go home, Dad. Let's go be a family again."_

"Yes. Let's be... family..." Evice echoed and reached out, closing his eyes as he fell.

When the keepers of the Relic Forest found Evice's body the next morning, they sought out advice from both Eagun and Seth. They agreed to bury the old man respectively and took him out to the desert. Evice was laid to rest in a deep grave and covered over in the warm stones of the desert mesas. Eagun performed the ceremony as best he could while Seth and Rui stood over the grave. Both became aware of additional people coming in from a hover-car to stand with them.

Silent, but temporary, truce formed by the death of their former crime lord, Lady Venus, Miror B. and Professor Ein gazed down at the stone covered grave alongside the Snagger and his partner. No one asked how they escaped both certain death or jails, and no one offered the answers. At the ceremony's conclusion, the old foes looked at one another.

"It seems Cipher is truly dead now." Ein murmured, one arm in a sling, "By God's grace, may Evice find his peace."

"Perhaps one day, I'll find my piece of heaven on earth." Lady Venus added, hiding her tears behind her veils.

"Funeral dirges aren't my cup of tea, but samba music isn't appropriate either. I won't dance on this day." Miror B. muttered somberly.

"He wasn't a bad man, just a misguided one." Rui remarked, "He only wanted to have his son back. He was so lonely."

"He created me. I was meant to destroy, but I will devote my time and power to create and finish what he and Wesley originally wanted. A peaceful and green Orre." Seth whispered and closed his eyes. "Let the rain fall."

The clouds obeyed, sending a cooling rain to come over the sad mourners as they reflected on all the sacrifices made to restore a broken time and a plan for the future. All were unaware that, not very far away, a copy of Seth's memory was placed in the hands of a more dangerous foe, who would use the knowledge within it to ensure that the dream Seth fought for would be destroyed before it could be completed.

The End


End file.
